689 Spanish Boy Names (With Meanings & Popularity)
Updated Sun Sep 29 2024
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Spanish boy names are more popular in the US than ever before, with Spanish names for boys used both in the Latin American and Hispanic communities and crossing over to achieve widespread popularity.
Nameberry's audience includes Spanish-speaking countries around the world along with countries where Spanish may not be the primary language but Spanish names fit an international style. The Top 20 Spanish names for boys on Nameberry currently include the international Arlo and Hugo along with the classic Marco and Rafael.
The most popular Spanish names for boys in the US include Mateo, Angel, Jose, and Santiago. Many of the most familiar Spanish boys' names end with the letter O, which in itself has been a major trend and has helped boost the popularity of baby names of Spanish origin.
Along with Mateo and Angel, other Spanish boy names in the US Top 1000 include Leonardo, Diego, Luis, Antonio, Miguel, Gael, Alejandro, and Lorenzo. Other Hispanic baby boy names include the dashing celebrity-influenced Joaquin along with Nameberry's Number 1 Arlo, which counts Spanish and Basque among its international origins.
Baby boy names popular in Spain and Latin America include Hugo, Pablo, Alvaro, Mario, Manuel, and Javier. Other intriguing and unique Spanish names for boys in style today include Dario, Thiago, Gonzalo, and Izan.
The Spanish names for boys here are ordered by their popularity on Nameberry in the current month.
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- Arlo
Origin:
Irish or EnglishMeaning:
"between two hills"Description:
Quirky cool Arlo is now well and truly back. Last year it broke into the US Top 200 boy names and consistently ranks among the most popular boy names on Nameberry.
- Hugo
Origin:
Latinized form of HughMeaning:
"mind, intellect"Description:
Hugo, the Latin form of Hugh, has more heft and energy than the original -- and of course we love names that end (or begin, for that matter) with an o. This one is especially appealing because it's backed up by lots of solid history and European style.
- Mateo
Origin:
SpanishMeaning:
"gift of God"Description:
Mateo vaulted into the boys' Top 10 in 2023, ranking all the way up at Number 6. It is a Latinate names that, like Mia and Luca, is becoming popular far beyond its native Spanish community.
- Sol
Origin:
SpanishMeaning:
"sun"Description:
Although pinochle-playing partner Sam came out of retirement, we don't see it happening to Sol. Near soundalike Saul has more of a shot.
- Palomo
Origin:
SpanishMeaning:
"dove"Description:
The feminine form, Paloma, is more popular, but this has potential.
- Inigo
Origin:
Basque, medieval Spanish variation of IgnatiusMeaning:
"fiery"Description:
Inigo, almost unknown in the U.S., is an intriguing choice, with its strong beat, creative and evocative sound, and associations with the great early British architect and stage designer Inigo Jones. The sixteenth-seventeenth century Jones shared his name with his father, a London clockmaker, who received it when Spanish names for boys were fashionable in England, especially among devout Roman Catholics.
- Lorenzo
Origin:
Italian variation of LaurenceMeaning:
"from Laurentium"Description:
Latinizing Lawrence gives it a whole new lease on life. Like Leonardo, Lorenzo has been integrated into the American stockpot of names, partly via actor Lorenzo Lamas. Other associations are with Lorenzo de' Medici, the Florentine Renaissance merchant prince and art patron, Renaissance artists Ghiberti and Lotto, and the upstanding young man who married Shylock's daughter Jessica in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
- Santiago
Origin:
Place-name or LatinMeaning:
"Saint James"Description:
Santiago is a spirited Spanish name with great crossover potential. It's a place-name (a city in Chile), a surname, and the name of the patron saint of Spain.
- Cruz
Origin:
SpanishMeaning:
"cross"Description:
For a single-syllable Latino surname, this new popular kid on the block packs a lot of energy and charm and is one of the most stylish Spanish names for boys in general use today. Victoria and David Beckham named their third son Cruz, following Brooklyn and Romeo, and it was also picked up on by tennis star Lleyton Hewitt for his son. Other parents may prize its Christian associations.
- Rafael
Origin:
Spanish variation of RaphaelMeaning:
"God has healed"Description:
Energetic, sunny, and slightly romantic, Rafael is a popular choice in Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Croatia. Used internationally, Rafael is a Spanish variation of Raphael, that lends itself easily to the nicknames Rafi, Rafa and Rafe.
- Emilio
Origin:
Spanish and Italian variation of EmilMeaning:
"rival"Description:
Dashing and suave, with a hint of poetry and gentleness, Emilio is an appealing and international choice. A solid favorite in Italy, it is also on the rise in the US, France, Austria, and the UK.
- Archibald
Origin:
Scottish from GermanMeaning:
"truly brave"Description:
The short form Archie is so open and friendly --and very trendy in the British Isles--that some parents are now beginning to consider the formerly fusty Archibald as well. SNL comedians Amy Poehler and Will Arnett are one couple who made this breakthrough choice.
- Diego
Origin:
Spanish variation of JamesMeaning:
"supplanter"Description:
The energetic Diego is rising rapidly along with a lot of other authentically Spanish baby names that work perfectly well with surnames of any origin.
- Carlos
Origin:
Spanish variation of CharlesMeaning:
"free man"Description:
Carlos is the Spanish and Portuguese variation of Charles, which has been used in solid numbers in the US for as long as data has been kept. Carlos has never fallen out of the Top 600, but peaked from the 70s-early 2000s. Today Carlos is still within the Top 200. Notable namesakes include musician Santana, writers Fuentes and Castaneda, and numerous athletes. Carlos Irwin Estevez is the birth name of Charlie Sheen.
- Marco
Origin:
Italian and Spanish form of MarkMeaning:
"warlike"Description:
Simple and universal, Marco is a Latin classic that would make a much livelier namesake for an Uncle Mark. It was used for her son by actress Jill Hennessy and goes well with surnames of any nationality.
- Carmen
Origin:
Spanish variation of Carmel or LatinMeaning:
"garden or song"Description:
While the variation Carmine is more familiar for boys, Carmen has also been used as a masculine name; consider the very macho Carmen Basilio — the American boxer famous for defeating the great Sugar Ray Robinson — or composer Carmen Dragon.
Spanish and Italian forms Carmelo and Carmello are also quite popular in the US, with Carmelo ranking in the Top 1000.
- Leonardo
Origin:
Italian and Spanish variation of Leonard, GermanMeaning:
"brave lion"Description:
For centuries this name was associated primarily with the towering figure of Italian Renaissance painter-scientist-inventor Leonardo da Vinci, and was scarcely used outside the Latin culture.
- Antonio
Origin:
Spanish and Italian variation of AnthonyMeaning:
"from Antium"Description:
Antonio is a Shakespearean favorite -- the Bard used it in no less than five of his plays, and has long been a ubiquitous classic in Spanish-speaking countries, where the nickname Tonio is also prevalent. Antonio is also among an elite group of perennially popular names in the US, where it has always been among the boys' Top 1000 since baby name record-keeping started in 1880.
- Francisco
Origin:
Spanish, PortugueseMeaning:
"free man"Description:
Francisco is one of the more popular Spanish names for boys in the US, which is unsurprising given its popularity back in Spain and Portugal as well as Latin America, coupled with its classic status. It also has a cool hipster vibe to it, given the reputation of the city of San Francisco.
- Emiliano
Origin:
Italian and Spanish variation of EmilMeaning:
"rival"Description:
Emiliano is an appealing Latinate version of Emil, with the same gentle sounds but additional flair. Popular in Chile and Mexico, where it ranks in the Top 20, Emiliano is also a rising name in the US.