Heath (given name)

Heath is a masculine given name derived from the Old English word hǣþ, or heath. The name is a transferred use of the surname.

Usage

Usage of the name in the Anglosphere has been affected by popular culture. The name first appeared on the list of 1,000 most popular names used for American boys in 1966, the year after the character Heath Barkley, played by actor Lee Majors, debuted on the American western television series The Big Valley. The name might have been regarded as a masculine version of the popular feminine name Heather. Heath remained among the 1,000 most popular names for American boys between 1966 and 2022. The name had a slight spike in popularity in the United States following the death of Australian actor Heath Ledger in January 2008. It had been slowly declining in use and appeared in 903rd place on the popularity chart in 2007, but jumped to 716th place in 2008 and 681st place in 2009. The name declined to 760th place in 2010. Heath no longer appeared among the 1,000 most popular names for American boys as of 2023 but remains in regular use in the United States. Heath has also been among the 1,000 most popular names for boys in the United Kingdom between 2003 and 2023. It also appeared among the 100 most popular names for boys in Australia at different times between 1971 and 1975. Heath has also appeared among the 1,000 most popular names for boys in Canada in recent years.

Men

Heath Bell, American baseball player
Heath Benedict, American football player
Heath Black, Australian rules footballer
Heath Davis, former New Zealand cricketer
Heath Davis (director), Australian film director, director of 2018 film Christmess
Heath Evans, American football player
Heath Herring, American martial artist
Heath L'Estrange, Australian rugby league player
Heath Lamberts, Broadway actor
Heath Ledger, Australian actor
Heath MacDonald, Canadian politician
Heath MacQuarrie, Canadian politician, teacher, scholar, and writer
Heath Miller, American football player
Heath Ramsay, Australian swimmer
W. Heath Robinson, British cartoonist
Heath Rylance, American football player
Heath Scotland, Australian rules footballer
Heath Sessions, American politician
Heath Shuler, NFL quarterback and later Democratic Party Representative for North Carolina, U.S.
Heath Slater, American pro wrestler currently known as Heath
Heath Streak, Zimbabwean cricketer
Heath Thorpe, Australian artistic gymnast

Stage name

Heath (musician), Japanese musician, songwriter and member of the band X Japan