Hector () is an English, French, Scottish, and Spanish

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

. The name is derived from the name of

Hektor In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, a legendary

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

champion who was killed by the Greek

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...

. The name ''Hektor'' is probably derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''ékhein'', meaning "to have", "to hold", "to check", "restrain". In Scotland, the name ''Hector'' is sometimes an anglicised form of the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

Eachann ''Eachann'' is a masculine given name in the Scottish Gaelic. A similar and possibly related early form of the name was ''Eachdonn''. which cited for the surname "Hector". The name is composed of two elements; the first element is ''each'', mean ...

'', and the pet form ''Heckie'' is sometimes used. The name of

Sir Ector Sir Ector , sometimes Hector, Antor, or Ectorius, is the father of Sir Kay and the adoptive father of King Arthur in the Matter of Britain. Sometimes portrayed as a king instead of merely a lord, he has an estate in the country as well as pro ...

, the foster father of King Arthur, is also a variant of the same.

Etymology

In Greek, is a derivative of the verb ἔχειν ''ékhein'', archaic form * grc, ἕχειν, hékhein, label=none ('to have' or 'to hold'), from

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...

*'' seɡ́ʰ-'' ('to hold'). , or as found in

Aeolic In linguistics, Aeolic Greek (), also known as Aeolian (), Lesbian or Lesbic dialect, is the set of dialects of Ancient Greek spoken mainly in Boeotia; in Thessaly; in the Aegean island of Lesbos; and in the Greek colonies of Aeolis in Anato ...

poetry, is also an epithet of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

in his capacity as 'he who holds verything together. Hector's name could thus be taken to mean 'holding fast'.

Cognates

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Eachtar'' *

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''

Ettore Ettore is a given name, the Italian version of Hector. People * Ettore Arrigoni degli Oddi (1867–1942), Italian naturalist * Ettore Bassi (born 1970), Italian actor and television presenter *Ettore Bastianini (1922–1967), Italian opera singer * ...

'' *

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

: ''Heitor'' *

: Modern Greek: ''Έκτορας'' (Ectoras), Ancient Greek: ''Ἕκτωρ'' (Hector)

People with the name

Hector Abhayavardhana Hector Abhayavardhana (5 January 1919 – 22 September 2012) was a Sri Lankan Trotskyist theoretician, a long-standing member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and a founder-member of the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Bur ...

(1919-2012), Sri Lankan Sinhala Trotskyist politician *

Hector Appuhamy Hector Appuhamy is a Sri Lankan politician and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He was elected from Puttalam District in 2015. He is a Member of the United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එ ...

, Member of the

Sri Lanka Parliament The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

for Puttalam District *

Hector Arawwawala Hector Arawwawala was the fifth Governor of North Western Province. He was part of the United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthi ...

, Governor of North Western Province, Sri Lanka from July 1994 - January 1995 * Héctor Ávila, Dominican boxer * Héctor Ballesteros, Colombian weightlifter *

Héctor Bellerín Héctor Bellerín Moruno (born 19 March 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right-back or wing-back for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Spain national team. Bellerín started his career at Barcelona, and moved ...

, Spanish football (soccer) player *

Hector Boece Hector Boece (; also spelled Boyce or Boise; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Principal of King's College in Aberdeen, a predecessor of the University of Abe ...

, a Scottish philosopher and historian * Hector Berlioz, French composer *

Hector (Toe) Blake In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, Canadian hall of fame hockey player and coach * Hector Luis Bustamante, Colombian actor *

Héctor Carrasco Héctor Pacheco Carrasco (born October 22, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He bats and throws right handed. In a twelve-season career, Carrasco has posted a 44–50 record with 19 saves and a 3.99 ERA in 637 relief ap ...

, Dominican baseball player * Héctor Castaño, Colombian road cyclist *

Hector Charlesworth Hector Willoughby Charlesworth (28 September 1872 – 30 December 1945) was a Canadian writer, editor, and critic. Biography Hector Charlesworth was born in Hamilton on 28 September 1872. He married Katherine Ryan on 15 February 1897, and they h ...

, Canadian writer, editor and critic *

Hector Crawford Hector William Crawford CBE AO (14 August 191311 March 1991) was an Australian entrepreneur, conductor and media mogul, best known for his radio and television production firms. He and his sister Dorothy Crawford founded Crawford Productions ...

, Australian radio and television producer *

Hector de Zayas Hector de Zayas (September 7, 1910 – July 26, 1944) was a highly decorated United States Marine Corps Lieutenant colonel (United States), lieutenant colonel. He was killed in action during the Battle of Guam (1944), second battle of Guam in W ...

, U.S. Marine Corps officer and Navy Cross recipient *

Hector Deheragoda Ekanayake Rajapakse Kodippilli Dissanayake Mudiyanseralahamilaye Hector Deheragoda was the 26th Solicitor General of Ceylon. He was appointed on 1970, succeeding L. B. T. Premaratne, and held the office until 1972. He was succeeded by R. S. Wana ...

, Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from 1970-1972 *

Héctor del Curto Héctor del Curto is an Argentine tango bandoneon player. Born in Buenos Aires, he began to study tango music at a young age, winning the Best Bandoneon under 25 when only 17 years old. Following that honour, he played with the late tango giants ...

, Argentine tango bandoneon player * Héctor Delgado, reggaeton artist *

Héctor Elizondo Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021) ...

, Puerto Rican-American actor * Héctor Ferri, Ecuadorian football (soccer) player * Hector Halsall, English rugby league footballer with Swinton RLFC in the 1920s * Hector A. Hanson, American farmmer and politician *

Hector Hetherington Sir Hector James Wright Hetherington (21 July 1888 – 15 January 1965) was a Scottish philosopher, who was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool from 1927 to 1936, and Principal of the University of Glasgow until 1961. Early life H ...

, Scottish philosopher * Héctor King, Mexican recording artist *

Hector Kobbekaduwa Hector Senarath Rajakaruna Bandara Kobbekaduwa (29 August 1916 – 17 September 1983) was a Sri Lankan politician and lawyer. He was the Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate in the 1982 Sri Lankan presidential election and the Minister for Agricult ...

, Sri Lankan Sinhala lawyer and politician *

Héctor Lavoe Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (30 September 1946 – 29 June 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe is considered to be possibly the best and most important singer and interpreter in the history of salsa ...

, Puerto Rican salsa singer *

Hector Lombard In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, Cuban-Australian mixed martial artist *

Hector Munro Macdonald Prof Hector Munro Macdonald FRAS FRSE LLD (19 January 1865 – 16 May 1935) was a Scottish mathematician, born in Edinburgh in 1865. He researched pure mathematics at Cambridge University after graduating from Aberdeen University with an ...

, Scottish mathematician *

Hector Carsewell Macpherson Hector Carsewell Macpherson (16 October 1851 – 17 October 1924) was a prolific Scottish writer and journalist who published books, pamphlets and articles on history, biography, politics, religion, and other subjects. Biography Early ye ...

, Scottish writer and journalist *

Héctor Moreno (footballer) Héctor Alfredo Moreno Herrera (born 17 January 1988) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga MX club Monterrey and the Mexico national team. Moreno ascended the youth ranks of Club Universidad Nacional, m ...

, Mexican football (soccer) player * Hector Munro, 8th laird of Novar, a Scottish-born British soldier who became the ninth Commander-in-Chief, India * Hector Hugh Munro, British writer who used the pseudonym Saki *

Héctor Noguera Héctor Eugenio Noguera Illanes (born July 8, 1937 in Santiago), is a Chilean television, theatre and film actor, and also a theatre director. Noguera is the son of Héctor Noguera Prieto (grandson of José Joaquín Prieto Vial and Yolanda Illa ...

, Chilean television, film and theatre actor * Héctor Germán Oesterheld, Argentine journalist and writer of graphic novels and comics *

Hector Ó hEochagáin Shane Ó hEochagáin (; born 17 August 1969), known mononymously as Hector, is an Irish television and radio presenter born in Drogheda, County Louth, and raised in Navan, Co. Meath. He currently presents ''The Tommy and Hector Podcast with La ...

, Irish radio and television presenter *

Héctor Palacio Héctor Ivan Palacio Montoya (born 12 May 1969) is a Colombian former professional cyclist. During the 1992 Olympic Games, Palacio represented Colombia in the individual road race, where he finished 52nd. He most notably won the Vuelta a Colomb ...

, Colombian road racing cyclist * Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, Canadian poet * Héctor Soto, Puerto Rican volleyball player * Héctor Thomas, Venezuelan decathlete *

Héctor Timerman Héctor Marcos Timerman (16 December 1953 – 30 December 2018) was an Argentine journalist, politician, human rights activist and diplomat. He served as his country's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2015, during the presidency of Cristi ...

, Argentine foreign minister *

Hector Tyndale Hector Tyndale (a.k.a. George Hector Tyndale) was a Union general during the American Civil War rising to the rank of Brevet Major General of Volunteers. He notably led brigades at the battles of Antietam and Wauhatchie. Apart from the war Tynda ...

, American military officer * Héctor Velásquez, Chilean boxer * Héctor Vidal Martínez, Paraguayan football (soccer) midfielder *

Héctor Vilches Héctor Vilches (14 February 1926 – 23 September 1998) was a Uruguayan footballer, born in Montevideo, who played for C.A. Cerro. For the Uruguay national football team, he was part of the 1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was th ...

, Uruguayan football (soccer) player * Héctor Yan (born 1999), Dominican Republic professional baseball player

Arthurian legend

Hector de Maris The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...

Fictional characters

;Monomial characters * Hector, minor character in the book series ''

A Series of Unfortunate Events ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After th ...

'' * Hector (Ambrosia Mascot), parrot, unofficial mascot of games company Ambrosia Software * Hector (Castlevania), from ''Castlevania: Curse of Darkness'' *

Hector (Fire Emblem) ''Fire Emblem'', also officially known as ''Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade'', is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld video game console. It is the seventh ...

, from the ''Fire Emblem'' video game franchise *

Hector (Marvel Comics) Pantheon is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Peter David, the Pantheon first appeared in '' The Incredible Hulk'' vol. 2 #368 (April 1990), and was a large part of that book' ...

, a Marvel Comics superhero * Hector: Fat Arse of the Law, in the adventure video game ''Hector: Badge of Carnage'' * Hector, a polite robot of the father and son android pair Hector and Vector in "Greetings from Earth" (1979), an episode of the ''

Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series) ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction television series created by Glen A. Larson and starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, and Dirk Benedict. The series follows the surviving humans as they flee in the fictional spacecraft ...

'' * Hector, the evil robot in the film ''

Saturn 3 ''Saturn 3'' is a 1980 British science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel. The screenplay was written by Martin Amis, from a story by John Barry. Though a British p ...

'' * Hector, a character in the film '' Coco'' ;Monomial with descriptor *

Hector the Bulldog Hector the Bulldog is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. Hector is a muscle-bound bulldog with gray fur (except in ''A Street Cat Named Sylvester'' and '' Greedy for Twee ...

, in '' Looney Tunes'' cartoons * Hector the Cat, a mascot for the teaching of road safety to children in Australia * Hector the Dog, in the British children's television series ''

Hector's House ''Hector's House'' (French ''La Maison de Toutou'') is a French children's television series using glove puppets. It was first broadcast in France on 1ère chaine on 27 October 1966 and ran over seven series and 78 episodes. It was re-voiced in ...

'' ;Binomial characters * Hector Alembick, character from ''

King Ottokar's Sceptre ''King Ottokar's Sceptre'' (french: link=no, Le Sceptre d'Ottokar) is the eighth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper for its children's sup ...

'' *

Hector Barbossa Captain Hector Barbossa is a fictional character of the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise, appearing in all five films in the series. Starting out as a villainous undead pirate in '' The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (2003), the character dies ...

, in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series * Hector Bowen, aka Prospero the Enchanter, from the novel

The Night Circus ''The Night Circus'' is a 2011 fantasy novel by Erin Morgenstern. It was originally written for the annual writing competition National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) over the span of three competitions. The novel has a nonlinear narrative wr ...

* Hector Ruiz, from the American television series

The Electric Company ''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The ...

* Hector Cruz, from the American animated television series ''

Ozzy & Drix ''Ozzy & Drix'' is an American animated television series based on the 2001 film '' Osmosis Jones''. It serves as a spiritual successor to the film. It centers on Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones, a cheeky-chappy white blood cell, and Drix, a level-headed c ...

'' * Hector "Hec" Faulkner, a character from the film '' Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' * Hector Garcia, a character from '' Zits'' *

Hector Gonzales The following is a list of primary antagonists in the ''James Bond'' novels and film series. Novel villains by author Ian Fleming Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham) Christopher Wood John Gardner Raymond Benson ...

, in the film ''For Your Eyes Only'' *

Hector Hall Hector Hall is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in DC Comics's '' Infinity, Inc.'', '' Sandman'' and '' JSA''. He has gone by the names Silver Scarab, Sandman, and Doctor Fate. Publication history Hector Hall first appeared in '' All ...

, a DC Comics character *

Hector Hammond Hector Hammond is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics who is primarily an enemy of Green Lantern. Peter Sarsgaard played the role of Hammond in the 2011 film ''Green Lantern''. Publication history Hector Hamm ...

, a DC Comics supervillain. * Hector "High Five" Nieves, one of the two main characters in the animated web television series '' Glitch Techs''. * Hector Ricardo, a minor character in the

Lorien Legacies ''Lorien Legacies'' is a series of young adult science fiction books, written by James Frey, Jobie Hughes, and formerly, Greg Boose, under the collective pseudonym Pittacus Lore. Lorien Legacies ''I am Number Four'' The first book of The ...

series *

Hector Salamanca ''Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its s ...

, a character in '' Breaking Bad'' and ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...

'' * Hector Williams, one of the main characters in the American television show ''

The Unit ''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009 with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled ...

'' * Hector "Zero" Zeroni, a character in the novel ''

Holes A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

'' and its film adaption ;Polynomial characters * Hector Con Carne, the main character from the American animated series ''

Evil Con Carne ''Evil Con Carne'' is an American animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms for Cartoon Network. The series centers on wealthy crime lord Hector Con Carne, who is reduced to his brain and stomach after an assassination attempt and subseq ...

References