Hector () is an English, French, Scottish, and Spanish given name. The name is derived from the name of Hektor, a legendary Trojan champion who was killed by the Greek Achilles. The name Hektor is probably derived from the Greek ékhein, meaning "to have", "to hold", "to check", "restrain". In Scotland, the name Hector is sometimes an anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic Eachann, and the pet form Heckie is sometimes used. The name of Sir Ector, the foster father of King Arthur, is also a variant of the same.
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Etymology
In Greek, Héktōr is a derivative of the verb ἔχειν ékhein, archaic form *ἕχειν, hékhein ('to have' or 'to hold'), from Proto-Indo-European *seɡ́ʰ- ('to hold'). Héktōr, or Éktōr as found in Aeolic poetry, is also an epithet of Zeus in his capacity as 'he who holds [everything together]'. Hector's name could thus be taken to mean 'holding fast'.
Cognates
Irish: Eachtar
Italian: Ettore
Portuguese: Heitor
Greek: Modern Greek: Έκτορας (Ectoras), Ancient Greek: Ἕκτωρ (Hector)
People with the name
Hector Gottfried Masius (1653–1709), German Lutheran theologian
Hector Abhayavardhana (1919–2012), Sri Lankan Sinhala Trotskyist politician
Héctor Alterio (1929–2025), Argentine actor
Hector Appuhamy, Sri Lankan politician
Hector Arawwawala, Governor of North Western Province, Sri Lanka (1995–1999)
Héctor Ávila, Dominican boxer
Héctor Ballesteros, Colombian weightlifter
Héctor Bellerín, Spanish football (soccer) player
Hector Boece, a Scottish philosopher and historian
Hector Berlioz, French composer
Hector (Toe) Blake, Canadian hall of fame hockey player and coach
Hector Luis Bustamante, Colombian actor
Héctor Carrasco, Dominican baseball player
Héctor Castaño, Colombian road cyclist
Hector Charlesworth, Canadian writer, editor and critic
Hector Crawford, Australian radio and television producer
Hector de Zayas, U.S. Marine Corps officer and Navy Cross recipient
Arthurian legend
Sir Ector
Hector de Maris
Fictional characters
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 the Bulldog, in Looney Tunes cartoons
Hector the Cat, a mascot for the teaching of road safety to children in Australia
Hector Barbossa, in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series
Hector Gonzales, in the film For Your Eyes Only
Hector Hall, a DC Comics character
Hector Hammond, a DC Comics supervillain.
Hector Salamanca, a character in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul
Hector Con Carne, the main character from the American animated series Evil Con Carne