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 f ...

. The name is derived from the name of

Hektor In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

, 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 18 ...

champion who was killed by the Greek

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

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

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

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

anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

form of the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

'' Eachann'', and the pet form ''Heckie'' is sometimes used. The name of Sir Ector, the foster father of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

, is also a variant of the same.

Etymology

In Greek, is a derivative of the verb ἔχειν ''ékhein'', archaic form * ('to have' or 'to hold'), from

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

*'' 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 Anat ...

poetry, is also an epithet of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

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

Cognates

* Irish: ''Eachtar'' *

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

: ''

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: Heitor *

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

People with the name

Hector Gottfried Masius Hector Gottfried Masius (13 April 1653 – 20 September 1709) was a German Lutheran theologian serving as vice-chancellor of the University of Copenhagen from 1691 to 1692 and, again, from 1700 to 1701. He acquired wealth through marriages and owne ...

(1653–1709), German Lutheran theologian *

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 Burm ...

(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 (UNP; , ) is a Centre-right politics ...

, Member of the

Sri Lanka Parliament The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Śrī Laṇkā Pārlimentuvā'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் '' ...

for

Puttalam District Puttalam is a district of Sri Lanka situated near the west coast of the country. The district has an area of . Along with the Kurunegala District, it forms the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. The district capital is Puttalam, which border ...

Hector Arawwawala Hector Arawwawala was the fifth Governor of North Western Province. He was part of the United National Party The United National Party (UNP; , ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1946, the pa ...

, Governor of North Western Province, Sri Lanka from July 1994–January 1995 *

Héctor Ávila Héctor Julio Ávila (born July 14, 1972, in Santiago de los Caballeros) is a retired boxer from the Dominican Republic.Héctor Ballesteros, Colombian weightlifter * Héctor Bellerín, 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 Ancient university governance in Scotland, Principal of King's College, Aberdeen, ...

, a Scottish philosopher and historian *

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

, French composer * Hector (Toe) Blake, Canadian hall of fame hockey player and coach *

Hector Luis Bustamante Héctor Luis Bustamante (born March 12, 1972) is a Colombian-American actor. He is best known for his emotionally-charged performance as Pedro Vera in the 2008 in film, 2008 original Lifetime Movie Network, LMN movie ''Little Girl Lost: The Delim ...

, Colombian actor * Héctor Carrasco, 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 ...

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

Solicitor General of Sri Lanka The solicitor general of Sri Lanka is a post subordinate to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka, attorney general of Sri Lanka. The solicitor general of Sri Lanka assists the attorney general, and is assisted by four additional solicitors general. ...

from 1970-1972 * Héctor del Curto, 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 Héctor Américo Ferri (born October 16, 1968) is a retired association football, footballer from Ecuador who played as a midfielder during his professional career. International career He obtained a total number of six caps (no goals) for Ecuado ...

, Ecuadorian football (soccer) player *

Héctor Fresina Héctor Fresina (born c. 1968) was a provincial deputy in Mendoza Province in Argentina. He is a member of the Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organis ...

, Argentine politician *

Hector Halsall Hector Halsall (20 August 1900 – October 1966) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s, and coached in the 1930 and 1940s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level fo ...

, English rugby league footballer with Swinton RLFC in the 1920s * Hector A. Hanson, American farmer and politician * Hector Hetherington, Scottish philosopher *

Héctor King Héctor King (born May 4, 1982) is a Mexican people, Mexican recording artist who has worked in Latin America as well as the United States. King released the Spanish language album ''VIVE'' in 2006, followed-up by "The Sweet Spot", in English in ...

, 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 Ministry of Agricultur ...

, Sri Lankan Sinhala lawyer and politician *

Héctor Lavoe Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (September 30, 1946 – June 29, 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican salsa music, salsa singer. Widely regarded as one of salsa’s most important and influential vocalist ...

, Puerto Rican salsa singer * Hector Lombard, Cuban-Australian mixed martial artist * Hector Munro Macdonald, Scottish mathematician * Hector Carsewell Macpherson, 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. Moreno ascended the youth ranks of Club Universidad Nacional, making his senior debut in 2006 at ...

, Mexican football (soccer) player * Hector Munro, 8th laird of Novar, a Scottish-born British soldier who became the ninth

Commander-in-Chief, India During the period of the Company and Crown rule in India, the Commander-in-Chief, India (often "Commander-in-Chief ''in'' or ''of'' India") was the supreme commander of the Indian Army from 1833 to 1947. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his ...

Hector Hugh Munro Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), popularly known by his pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirise Edwardian era, Edwardian ...

, British writer who used the pseudonym Saki * Héctor Noguera, Chilean television, film and theatre actor * Héctor Germán Oesterheld, Argentine journalist and writer of graphic novels and comics *

Hector Ó hEochagáin Shane Ó hEochagáin ( ; (of the tribe of Uí Néill) born 17 August 1969), known mononymously as Hector, is an Irish television and radio presenter born in Drogheda, County Louth, and raised in Navan, County Meath. He is best known for travel ...

, 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 Colom ...

, Colombian road racing cyclist *

Hector Rosales Hector Rosales (born April, 1958 in Montevideo) is an Uruguayan poet and writer. As a child, he lived in the Aires Puros barrio (neighborhood) on Burges Avenue, near Fazenda Ipiranga Airport. He attended a local elementary school before moving up ...

(born 1958), Uruguayan poet and writer * Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, Canadian poet *

Héctor Soto Héctor Soto (born June 28, 1978 iArroyoPuerto Rico
is a former volleyball p ...

, Puerto Rican volleyball player *

Héctor Thomas Héctor Tomás Thomas Martínez (10 October 1938 – 23 December 2008) was a decathlon, decathlete from Venezuela. Career He won more than ten medals in various athletics events at the Bolivarian Games from 1961 to 1973, as well as three meda ...

, Venezuelan decathlete * Héctor Timerman, Argentine foreign minister * Hector Tyndale, American military officer * Héctor Velásquez, Chilean boxer * Héctor Vilches, Uruguayan football (soccer) player * Hector Andre, Guatemalan artist known for his "Sneaky Snitch" series

Arthurian legend

* Sir Ector *

Hector de Maris The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ...

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 literature, children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of orphaned siblings List of A ...

'' * Hector (Ambrosia Mascot), parrot, unofficial mascot of games company Ambrosia Software * Hector (Castlevania), from ''Castlevania: Curse of Darkness'' * Hector (Fire Emblem), from the ''Fire Emblem'' video game franchise * Hector (Marvel Comics), 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 on television, science fiction television series created by Glen A. Larson that aired on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from September 17, 1978, to April 29, 1979. It stars ...

'' * 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 ...

'' ;Monomial with descriptor *

Hector the Bulldog The ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated shorts released by Warner Bros. feature a range of characters which are listed and briefly detailed here. Major characters from the franchise include Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fud ...

, in ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

'' 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'' () 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 supplement , it was serialised weekly fr ...

'' *

Hector Barbossa Captain Hector Barbossa is a fictional character of the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise, depicted by Geoffrey Rush and appearing in all five films in the series. Barbossa debuted in '' The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (2003) as the capta ...

, 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 speculative fiction 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 ...

* Hector Casagrande, a character from the American animated series The Casagrandes and

The Loud House ''The Loud House'' is an American animated sitcom created by Chris Savino that premiered on Nickelodeon on May 2, 2016. The series revolves around the chaotic everyday life of a boy named Lincoln Loud, who is the middle child and only son in a ...

* Hector Doyle from the manga and anime series Baki * 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 centers on Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones, a cheeky-chappy white blood cell, and Drix, a level-headed cold pill, who battle germs and viruses inside the ...

'' * Hector "Hec" Faulkner, a character from the film '' Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' * Hector Flanagan, a character from the American animated series ''

Sanjay and Craig ''Sanjay and Craig'' is an American animated sitcom created by Jim Dirschberger, Jay Howell, and Andreas Trolf for Nickelodeon. Produced by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi, the series revolves around Sanjay, voiced by Maulik Pancholy, and his ...

'' * Hector Garcia, a character from '' Zits'' * Hector Gonzales, in the film ''For Your Eyes Only'' *

Hector Hall Hector Sanders Hall (also known as Hektor Hol) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entert ...

, a DC Comics character * Hector Hammond, 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 fiction, young adult science fiction books, written by James Frey, Jobie Hughes, and formerly, Greg Boose, under the collective pseudonym Pittacus Lore. The title of the series is taken from Lorie ...

series * Hector Salamanca, a character in ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...

'' and ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American legal crime drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould for AMC. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–201 ...

'' * Héctor Rivera, a character in the film ''

Coco Coco or variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Coco'' (2009 film), a French comedy film * ''Coco'' (2017 film), an American animated fantasy film * '' Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle'' (), a 2020 Japanese anime film ...

'' * 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. ...

'' * 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 subs ...

References