Hughes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A Welsh-origin family name borne by many notable people, such as the poets Ted Hughes and Langston Hughes
2. A surname of Welsh origin, carried by numerous people in English-speaking countries including famous writers and industrialists
3. The family name of Welsh origin shared by various well-known figures, among them the aviator and filmmaker Howard Hughes

Etymology: Hughes is a surname, and its story is simply that of a patronymic. In Wales, where it is especially common, it comes from "Hugh", the Norman-French and English form of the Germanic name "Hugo", which was carried into Wales after the Norman period. Welsh naming before this relied on patronymics such as "ap Hugh", meaning "son of Hugh", and over the centuries these were gradually worn down into fixed surnames. "Hughes" is thus the English-style genitive, "Hugh's son," and a sign of the same process that produced "Williams", "Jones" and "Davies" across Wales. The name "Hugo" itself goes back to a Germanic root meaning "mind" or "intellect", the same root found in the Old English word "hyge". This is one of the few cases where a common English word and a famous Welsh surname share a root, though the connection is a distant one and the two words took entirely separate paths into the language.