Surname from Hudde, a medieval pet form of Hugh or Richard — son of hudde. Tied to the explorer Henry Hudson and the river named for him.
Hudson ranks 17th among American boys in 2025, with 8,666 born that year. Its best year was 2025, when 8,666 babies were given the name, ranking 17th. The typical living American called Hudson is about 8 years old today. It is relatively most common in Vermont, where it accounts for 1.10% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.