From an Old French name, Hugues, Hugo, of Germanic (Frankish) origin, derived from hug ‘heart, mind, spirit’. It was originally a short form of various compound names containing this element. This was borne by the aristocracy of medieval France, adopted by the Normans, and introduced by them to Britain. It was consistently one of the most popular boys' names in the Middle Ages in England, but fell out of favour in the 16th century until it was revived in the 20th century. Little Hugh of Lincoln was a child supposed in the Middle Ages to have been murdered by Jews in about 1255 , a legend responsible for several outbursts of anti-Semitism at various times. The story is referred to by Chaucer in The Prioress's Tale. He is not to be confused with St Hugh of Lincoln ( 1140–1200 ), bishop of Lincoln ( 1186–1200 ), who was noted for his charity and good works, his piety, and his defence of the Church against the State. Since the later Middle Ages Hugh has also been used as an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Aodh .