Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Hero

Hero is a female name from Greek mythology; it comes from “hḗrōs” (ἥρως) meaning “demi-god”. In Latin, the word “heros” was borrowed to mean more specifically a person with superhuman strength and unbreakable courage; one who protects and defends others in a self-sacrificial way. Thanks to ancient Greek mythology, however, Hero is a female name who will forever be tied to her lover Leander. In fact, the tragic love story surrounding Hero and Leander has provided the inspiration for many artists who have immortalized the pair in many classical works throughout the centuries (paintings, sculptures, poems, etc). Hero was a beautiful priestess of Aphrodite (the goddess of love and beauty) who dwelled in Sestos. Sestos was an ancient Greek town along the narrow water straight called Hellespont which connected the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea by way of the Sea of Marmara (the straight is now known as the Dardanelles located in present day Turkey; the ruins of Sestos remain on the Gallipoli Peninsula). At the time of the mythical story, however, in the centuries B.C., the region belonged to Greece and so sat Sestos along the Hellespont. Directly on the other side of the straight was another town called Abydos where a young man by the name of Leander lived. Leander fell in love with the fair Hero and so swam the roughly two mile distance across the Hellespont every night to be with his sweetheart; and every night Hero would shine a light from her tower to help guide his way. One particularly stormy night, however, the wind extinguished Hero’s light and Leander lost his way, finally drowning in the turbulent waves. His body washed ashore the next morning and, upon seeing the corpse of her lover, the grief-stricken Hero jumped from the tower, throwing herself into the sea to be with her beloved for eternity. Early Roman poets Virgil and Ovid pay tribute to the story of Hero and Leander in their poetry. English dramatists Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare were also inspired by the Greek legend as were poets John Keats and Lord Byron. In fact, Shakespeare used the name Hero for one of his young “heroines” in his comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” (c. 1598). In the early 19th century, poet Lord Byron actually swam the Hellespont in order to recreate Leander’s exact passageway to Hero. How romantic!

All About the Baby Name – Hero

Personality

OF THE GIRL NAME HERO

The number one personality is a leader - strong and competitive. They are willing to initiate action and take risks. One personalities work hard toward their endeavors and have the ability to apply their creative and innovative thinking skills with strong determination. They believe in their ability to succeed and are too stubborn to be hindered by obstacles. Ones meet obstacles head-on with such mental vigor and energy that you better step aside. They resent taking orders, so don't try telling them what to do either. This is an intensely active personality, but they are also known as starters rather than finishers. They have a propensity to become bored and will move quickly to the next project if not properly challenged.  They are the ones to think up and put into action new and brilliant ideas, but they are not the ones to stick around and manage them. This personality has an enthusiastic and pioneering spirit. They are distinctly original.

Popularity

OF THE GIRL NAME HERO

Hero is a highly uncommon name and one which has never seen much circulation here in the United States. To put her rarity in perspective, only 18 baby girls (out of nearly two million) were given the name Hero in 2012. And yet we applaud those 18 parents for their bold taste in a name! Hero is lovely, she’s mythological, she’s romantic, she’s Shakespearean, and she has a goddess-like etymology. Seriously, what more could you ask for?

Quick Facts

ON HERO

GENDER:

Girl

ORIGIN:

Greek

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

2

RANKING POPULARITY:

N/A

PRONUNCIATION:

HEER-o

SIMPLE MEANING:

Hero

Characteristics

OF HERO

Independent

Individualistic

Ambitious

Strong-willed

Inventive

Successful

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Hero

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME HERO

Hero is a character in William Shakespeare’s comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, thought to have been written in 1598/99. Hero and her love, Claudio, are secondary couples to Beatrice and Benedick (Hero is Beatrice’s cousin). Hero is the poster girl for the sweet young thing who is wrongly accused, who is spurned at her own marriage altar, who meekly defends herself, and who readily accepts her lover back again after her name has been cleared. In our opinion, Hero should have been ranting and raving, searching out the villains who sullied her good name, and telling Claudio to take a hike at the end of the day. Well, that’s our opinion, but Hero herself seems to be happy with her lot. We’ll just leave her to it, shall we? And hope that the next time Claudio takes it in mind to listen to false rumors, Beatrice will step up to the plate again for her, because Hero apparently isn’t going to do it herself!

Hero and Leander are the subjects of Greek mythological origins, whose stories have been reworked for centuries in all forms of the arts. He is beautiful, she is gorgeous. Well, of course – it wouldn’t work quite as well if we had pimply, overweight protagonists, now, would it?! In addition to that, their love is star-crossed. Is this sounding familiar? Hero is a virginal attendant to the goddess of love, who is persuaded to give up that virginity (part of her job description, by the way) by the charming Leander. Nightly, he swims across the Hellespont toward the light in her tower dwelling, and they lie together in ecstasy. The gods would never allow such conditions to prevail forever. Sure enough, one dark and stormy night, Leander is tossed about by the sea, the winds blow out Hero’s light, he is lost, he drowns. Looking over the cliff and seeing the fate of her lover, the distraught Hero jumps to her death to be with him. Maybe, just maybe, she should either have stayed a virgin or quit her job. We’re just sayin’….

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME HERO

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Hero


Popular Songs

ON HERO

Nolan Ryan (He's A Hero To Us All)
a song by Jerry Jeff Walker

Famous People

NAMED HERO

We cannot find any famous people with the first name Hero.

Children of Famous People

NAMED HERO

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Hero

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME HERO

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Hero