Spanish Names Trending in the US
It's official — Mateo has joined the US Top 10 boy names in 2023, replacing Biblical Benjamin.
Spanish is the second language of the USA, spoken by around 60 million native and bilingual speakers – the largest Spanish-speaking population in the world after Mexico.
So it’s little wonder that so many beautiful Spanish names feature prominently on the US popularity charts!
For girls, cross-cultural choices like Olivia, Mia and Isabella are joined in the Top 20 by more specifically Spanish picks.
Luna, Spanish for “moon”, now sits at #10, Sofia is at #12, and Camila ranks at #13.
Rarer Spanish names rising fast include Teo and Santos for boys, Cielo and Solana for girls. All jumped well over 70 spots last year.
Today, we look at what the latest data reveals about the hottest Spanish names and trends in the US right now.
Top Spanish Names in the US
The top Spanish names in the US are surprisingly tricky to pinpoint. Do popular cross-cultural favorites like Olivia, Isabella, Daniel and Sebastian count?
The limited data we have suggests that they are disproportionally popular among parents of Hispanic and Latin American heritage. For example, Biblical Ezekiel ranks #50 nationally, but is the #5 boy name in New Mexico, which is the state with the highest proportion of Hispanic residents.
Other disproportionally popular choices in New Mexico include cross-cultural candidates like Elias, Josiah and Gabriel for boys, Aurora, Eliana and Leilani for girls.
But there’s no doubt that multi-cultural names like these are firm favorites across the board. The top Spanish names listed below are the highest-ranking choices with a more specifically Spanish flavor. All sit within the current Top 150 baby names in the US.
Top Spanish Girl Names
Other Spanish girl names that rank particularly highly in states with a large Hispanic and Latin American population – such as New Mexico, Texas, California and Arizona – include Aitana, Ariana, Amaya, Cataleya, Daleyza, Liliana, Mariana, Selena and Xiomara.
Top Spanish Boy Names
Other Spanish names for boys that rank particularly highly in the states with the largest Hispanic and Latin American populations include Alejandro, Antonio, Carlos, Emilio, Emiliano, Luciano, Jesus, Juan, Manuel and Miguel.
Spanish Name Trends in the US
Many of these popular Spanish names – especially on the boys’ side – are classic choices in Spanish-speaking communities. But many of the most traditional Spanish names are currently trending downwards in the US, in line with their English equivalents.
In recent years, more modern favorites have decisively overtaken Spanish classics for the first time in US naming history. The pool of names used by the Hispanic and Latin American community is widening, in step with the broader trend across the country for more innovation and individuality in naming.
The top Spanish names are now less tied to family or religious naming conventions, and more influenced by pop culture and celebrity connections, and by trends in sound and style.
Top Spanish Girl Name Trends
Fashionable trends in Spanish girl names include glide girl names like Amayah, Anaya, Araya, Cataleya, Dayana, Inaya, Itzayana and Raya.
Girl names starting with Ya-, such as Yara, Yareli, Yaretzi, Yaneli, Yaritza and Yatziri, also enjoy particular popularity with Hispanic and Latin American parents.
Similarly, girl names ending in -eli/-ely (Araceli, Nayeli, Yarely), -lani/lany (Kailany, Leilani, Melany), -is/-ys (Amaris, Genesis, Odalys) and -eth (Arleth, Arisbeth, Yamileth) are especially popular in the Latin American community.
Top Spanish Boy Name Trends
The hottest Spanish boy names of the moment include lots of trending -el ending choices.
Izael, Mael, Yael, Azael, Yadiel, Jaziel, Abdiel, Azriel, Dariel, Mikael, Ismael, Azrael and Misael were among the -el ending choices that rose in the rankings last year. All are disproportionally popular in states with a large Hispanic and Latin American population.
Long, liquid, romantic boy names like Aurelio, Orlando, Romeo, Emiliano, and Leandro are also heating up in a big way, in line with recent trends in Spanish girl names.
And there is evidence of some vintage Spanish boy names returning to favor. Alvaro, Ignacio, Matias, Maximo, Pablo, Rodrigo, Santino, Santos, Tadeo, and Vicente all gained at least 30 places last year.
Influence of Latin American Pop Culture
Spanish-language pop culture is a huge source of naming inspiration for Hispanic and Latin American parents in the US.
Names from TV and Film
Telenovela star Arleth Terán continues to influence name trends. Both Arleth and variant spellings Arlet and Arlette were among the fastest-rising girl names of 2023.
The names Ander and Marina — characters in the show Elite — rose in popularity in 2023. Dario from the Netflix series Dark Desire also rose slightly, along with Teresa from the telenovela La Reina Del Sur, and Denver from the show Money Heist.
Names Inspired by Music
One of the newest nature names to crack the US Top 1000 after rising 170 places in 2023 was Solana — a Spanish girl's name meaning sunshine. While Spanish nature names are currently plenty stylish on their own, Solana most likely got an extra boost of attention as the first name of popular musical artist, SZA.
Following along with the Spanish nature name trend: sweet Cielo, meaning "sky, heavens", rose an incredible 137 spots last year, after it was chosen by Michael Bublé and Luisana Lopilato for their daughter in 2022.
Spanish singer Rosalia also continues to influence name trends for girls. Her lovely lilting name rose a few dozen spots, along with related choices like Rosalina, Rosie and Rosemary.
And Mexican singer and actress Anahi may be behind the big rise of her unusual name: up over 100 spots. She appeared as a guest judge on the drag contest La más draga in 2022.
Names Boosted by Social Media
Social media is playing a bigger role than ever in the names that are catching people’s attention – and then catching on for real babies.
The second fastest-rising girl's name in 2023 was Alitzel — a name related to the ancient Mayan goddess Itzel. The success of Alitzel is likely attributed to this Tiktok, which has an impressive 1.8 million likes, recommending Spanish baby names (with Alitzel being the first featured).
Popular personalities who inspired parents of girls in 2023 include Marisol (+34), the musical alias of YouTuber Eva Gutowski, and social media influencer and model Georgina (+111) Rodriguez, who starred in her Netflix documentary, "I Am Georgina", in 2022.
Popular Names from Other Languages
Popular baby names with parents of Hispanic and Latin American heritage aren’t limited to Spanish picks, as some of the trending names above show!
Italian names are also well used in the Latin American community – no doubt because of the sound and spelling similarities between the two languages.
In the few areas which release baby name data broken down by ethnicity, like New York City, Italian boy names like Alessandro, Enzo, Giovanni and Valentino along with Italian girl names such as Arianna, Gabriella and Gianna all rank well above the national average for babies of Hispanic heritage.
Hawaiian and Hawaiian-inspired names, particularly those ending -lani for girls, are also disproportionally popular.
Leilani (#61 nationally) is #23 in New Mexico and a Top 50 pick in the next three states with the largest proportional Hispanic populations: California, Texas and Arizona.
And of course, names from languages indigenous to Central and South America are also widely used, notably for girls. Some of the most popular in the US today include Yaqui or Zapotec Nayeli, Tupi Anahi and Yara, Mayan Itzel and Ixchel, and Nahuatl Citlali, Xochitl and Quetzalli.