Hecht (surname)

Hecht is a surname of German and Yiddish (העכט, hekht) origin. In both languages, the word means "pike".

Notable people with the surname include:

Politics and Law

• Burton Hecht (born 1927), New York politician and judge
• Chic Hecht, former U.S. Senator from Nevada and U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas
• Daryl Hecht (1952–2019), American judge
• Evelyn Hecht-Galinski (born 1949), Jewish-German activist
• Greg Hecht, American politician
• Jon Hecht (born 1958), Massachusetts legislator, attorney and China law expert
• Michael Hecht, birth name of Michael Howard, British politician and leader of the Conservative Party from 2003 until 2005
• Nathan Hecht, American judge
• Sue Hecht, American politician

Academics

• Daniel Friedrich Hecht (1777–1833), German mathematician
• Eugene Hecht (born 1938), American physicist
• Friedrich Hecht (1903–1980), Austrian chemist and writer
• Frederick Hecht, American pediatrician, medical geneticist and teacher (descendant of Sam Hecht, Jr, co-founder of Hecht's)
• Michael Hecht (communication scientist), researcher in human communication
• Selig Hecht, American physiologist and atomic energy expositor
• Stefan Hecht, German chemist, professor at Humboldt University of Berlin
• Tobias Hecht, American anthropologist, ethnographer, and translator (descendant of Sam Hecht, Jr, co-founder of Hecht's)
• Robert Hecht-Nielsen, artificial intelligence and cognition theorist

Literature

• Anthony Hecht (1923–2004), American poet
• Daniel Hecht, American novelist
• Jennifer Michael Hecht (born 1965), American poet, historian, philosopher, and author

Entertainment

• Albie Hecht, former president of Spike TV and Nickelodeon
• Ben Hecht, prolific Hollywood screenwriter
• Erik Hecht, real name of German musician Eric Fish
• Gina Hecht (born 1953), American actress
• Harold Hecht, film producer
• Jessica Hecht, American actress
• Larry Hecht (1918-2008), better known as Larry Haines, American actor
• Paul Hecht, Canadian actor

Sports

• Duvall Hecht, American Olympic champion row
• Gerhard Hecht (1923-2005), German boxer
• Jeff Hecht, Canadian football player
• Jochen Hecht, German ice hockey player
• Ladislav Hecht (1909–2004), Czech-American professional tennis player
• Michael Hecht, German soccer player
• Raymond Hecht, German javelin-thrower

Business

• Ernest Hecht (1929–2018), British publisher
• Lotte Irene Hecht (1919-1983), German-Canadian entrepreneur, founder of "The 1945 Foundation", a Canadian charity organization
• Robert E. Hecht (1919–2012), American antiquities dealer
• Reuben Hecht (1909–1993), Israeli industrialist.
• Sam Hecht (born 1969), British industrial designer
• Sam Hecht, Jr., American retailer, co-founder of Hecht's

Other

• Abraham Hecht (1922–2013), American Orthodox rabbi, Rabbi Emeritus of Cong. Shaarei Zion (largest Syrian community besides Israel).
• Anton Hecht, English artist and filmmaker
• Erwin Hecht, O.M.I. (1933–2016), German Roman Catholic bishop
• Estelle Hecht, Canadian artist and gallery owner
• Hans-Joachim Hecht, German chess grandmaster
• Jacob J. Hecht (1924–1990), American rabbi
• John Rudolf Hecht (1911-1988), Austrian-Canadian entrepreneur and Austrian Honorary Consul in Kanada, founder of "The 1945 Foundation", a Canadian charity organization
• Joan Hecht, American writer and activist
• Józef Hecht (1891–1951), also known as Joseph Hecht, Polish printmaker and painter
• Kenneth Hecht, American public interest attorney, health and nutrition advocate (descendant of Sam Hecht, Jr., co-founder of Hecht's)
• Kenneth Hecht (disambiguation)
• Lina Frank Hecht (1848–1920), Boston philanthropist
• Mary Hecht (1931–2013), American-born Canadian sculptor
• Nathan Hecht (born 1949), Texas Supreme Court Justice
• Sigmund Hecht (1849–1925), Hungarian-born Reform rabbi in Montgomery, Alabama; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Los Angeles, California.

Hechtman

• Gideon Gechtman (1942, Cairo - 2008), an Israeli artist, sculptor
• J. F. Hechtman (1854–1933), American politician
• Ken Hechtman (born 1967), a Jewish Canadian freelance journalist
• Max Hechtman (born 1997), American filmmaker

See also

• Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation, a Canadian charitable foundation in Vancouver, founded 1962 as "The 1945 Foundation"
• Hecht Synagogue, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
• Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum, Haifa, Israel
• 10484 Hecht, an asteroid