The surname may also derive from the etymologically unrelated Picard variant Hugh (Old French Hue) of the Germanic name Hugo.
In Wales and other areas of Brythonic Britain, the surname derives from the personal name "Hu" or "Huw", meaning "fire" or "inspiration".
At the British Census of 1881, the relative frequency of the surname Hughes was highest on the Welsh island of Ynys Môn (Anglesey; 37.2 times the British average), followed by Gwynedd, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Meirionydd, Montgomeryshire, Ceredigion, Radnorshire and Carmarthenshire.
[1] In Ireland, the surname evolved from the ancient Irish name of Ó hAodha, for a grandson/descendant of Aodh (meaning "fire").
"Hughes" is often found in the northern Irish province of Ulster, being especially common in counties Armagh, Tyrone, Monaghan, Donegal and Fermanagh.