Hero (given name)
Hero is a given name of Ancient Greek origin meaning "hero." When occurring in English discussions of classical literature, it is sometimes transliterated as Hērō (Ancient Greek: Ἡρώ). The Ancient Greeks pronounced this name along the lines of /he.roː/ while present-day English speakers pronounce it /ˈhi.ɹoʊ/. The modern Greek pronunciation of the name is /i.ˈro/ (Iro).

In literature, female characters named Hero include one of the titular star-crossed lovers of the Ancient Greek myth Hero and Leander, a wronged bride-to-be in William Shakespeare's 1599 comedy Much Ado About Nothing, and the protagonist of Georgette Heyer's 1944 Regency romance novel Friday's Child.

The classical masculine counterpart of the name Hero, Heron (Ἥρων), is associated with historical figures such as the mathematicians Heron the Elder and Heron the Younger. Modern authors frequently refer to these figures as Hero, however, making no distinction between the classical feminine form and masculine form of the name.

The name Hero has in recent years seen occasional use for both boys and girls in the English-speaking world. In the United States, the name was given to 13 newborn girls and 68 newborn boys in 2022. It is also in occasional use in other English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom.

Hiro, a Japanese name with multiple meanings that became more widely known following the appearance of Hiro Nakamura, a character on the 2006-2010 American television series Heroes, was given to 67 newborn American boys in 2022. The Japanese male character's first name was intended as a play on the English word "hero".

People with the name

Men
Hero of Alexandria (fl. 60 AD), Greek mathematician and engineer who was active in his native city of Alexandria during the Roman era
 Heron the Younger, Greek mathematician
Hero Alom (born 1985), Bangladeshi model, actor, producer, singer, and politician
Hero Angeles (born 1984), a Filipino actor
Hero Brinkman (born 1964), Dutch politician
Hero Fiennes Tiffin (born 1997), English actor and model
Hero Schomerus (1816–1856), a Dutch military and colonial administrator

Women
Hero Ibrahim Ahmed (born 1948), former First Lady of Iraq and widow of Jalal Talabani

Fictional characters
Hero Cruz, Latino gay superhero of African descent in DC comics

See also
Hero (disambiguation) for people with the mononym, fictional characters, and uses in mythology
Herro, given name and surname

Notes

English feminine given names
Greek feminine given names
Feminine given names
Unisex given names