Hector Family History

Scottish: Anglicized form of the Gaelic personal name Eachann (earlier Eachdonn, already confused with Norse Haakon), composed of the elements each ‘horse’ + donn ‘brown’. English: found in Yorkshire and Scotland, where it may derive directly from the medieval personal name. According to medieval legend, Britain derived its name from being founded by Brutus, a Trojan exile, and Hector was occasionally chosen as a personal name, as it was the name of the Trojan king’s eldest son. The classical Greek name, Hektor, is probably an agent derivative of Greek ekhein ‘to hold back’, ‘hold in check’, hence ‘protector of the city’. German, French, and Dutch: from the personal name (see 2 above). In medieval Germany, this was a fairly popular personal name among the nobility, derived from classical literature. It is a comparatively rare surname in France.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press