120 Popular Hispanic Baby Boy Names

If you're following trends for baby boy names, you know why: More and more parents are skipping the same-old, same-old names that have been popular forever — Matthew was a top-five name for 25 years, from 1981 to 2006 — and looking for names that speak to them more personally. Some have a family member they want to honor. Others want to pay homage to a cultural heritage, or celebrate a place that has great meaning to them.

With these trends converging, it's no wonder that names of Spanish and Latin origin, like Mateo, are becoming some of the most popular baby names in the country. And for those who want to try some on for size, here are some great Hispanic boy names to get you started. Some are of Spanish or Latin origin, but are popular in the United States. Others are rare here, but a hit with parents in Spain, Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries. Take a look, and you'll have a great short list going in no time

Most Popular Spanish or Latin Names in the United States, With Meanings

The Social Security Administration (SSA) keeps data on the popularity of baby names each year, going back to 1900. These names, which are either Spanish or Latin in origin, are among the most-used names for baby boys last year.

Mateo, "gift of God"
Lucas/Luca,"bringer of light"
Sebastian, "venerable" or "revered"
Leo, "lion"
Santiago, "Saint James"
Julian, "youthful"
Miles, "soldier"
Anthony, "priceless one"
Roman, "citizen of Rome"
Thiago, "supplanter"
Christopher, "bearing Christ"
Angel, "messenger of God"
Adrian, "from Hadria" or "dark one"
Christian, "follower of Christ"
Silas, "of the forest"
Leonardo, "brave lion"
José, "God multiplies" or "God will add/increase"
Xavier, "new house"
Dominic,"belonging to the Lord"
Vincent, "conquering"

As an interesting point of comparison, the SSA also keeps a separate list of the most popular names in Puerto Rico. While not all of these are Spanish or Latin in origin, the most popular names were:

Noah, "rest"
Liam, "resolute protection"
Thiago, "supplanter"
Mateo, "gift of God"
Sebastian, "venerable" or "revered"
Lucas, "bringer of light"
Dylan, "son of the sea"
Ian, "God is gracious"
Matias, "gift of God"
Milan, "middle of the plain" or "union"

Most Popular Names in Spanish-Speaking Countries

BabyCenter is often a go-to for parents looking for baby-name inspiration. It also keeps track of the most popular names among its users, which may be a little more up-to-date than the SSA list, which has to wait until the end of each year to compile its most recent data. It also has a Spanish-language site, BabyCenter en Español, which, according to the site, is used by Hispanic parents in the United States and in 22 Spanish-speaking countries.

When BabyCenter en Español polled its users, the names that ranked highest were similar to the ones on the SSA lists — Mateo, Liam, Santiago, Thiago and Mathías were the top five — but these were the most popular names that haven't already appeared on either of the above lists, in order of their popularity:

Benjamín
Gael
Gabriel
Enzo
Emiliano
Samuel
Alejandro
Felipe
Bruno
Eithan
Nicolás
Valentino
Emmanuel
Isaac
Tomás
Oliver
Daniel
Dante
Bautista
Maximiliano
Salvador
Joaquín
Aarón
Elián
Lorenzo
Diego
Elías
Luciano
Benicio
Manuel

The site also flagged a few up-and-comers that didn't crack the top 50, but are making huge gains in popularity: Jerónimo, Álvaro, Damián, Santi and Mario. Keep track of these — they're going to be hot!

Most Popular Names in Mexico

Names.org looked south and compiled a list of the most popular Mexican names among Americans. (The lust also includes names of Aztec/Nahuatl origin.) When the names that were already on the SSA or BabyCenter lists were removed, these rose to the top:

Juan
Carlos
Luis
Antonio
Jesus
Miguel
Edgar
Ricardo
Eduardo
Hector
Fernando
Andres
Pedro
Raul
Sergio
Erick
Ramon
Jaime
Julio
Enrique
Arturo
Gerardo
Irving
Ernesto
Alfonso
Gustavo
Rodolfo
Adan
Cruz
Gilberto

The site also notes that Jesus, Angel, Juan and Luis have the most interest among international users (which isn't surprising given the way those names pop up on other lists).

The Most Popular Names in Spain

Not to be outdone, Nameberry, another website devoted to all things baby names (including origins and meanings), made a list of the most popular baby names in Spain. These were the most popular names we haven't included in other lists already:

Hugo
Martin
Pablo
Gonzalo
Alex
Marcos/Marco
Izan
Javier
Rodrigo
Dario
Adam
Jorge
Francisco
Guillermo
Pau
Mohamed
Iker
Rafael
Amir
Biel

These names haven't yet hit the tops of the charts in the United States yet, so they're good for parents who are looking for something unique or unusual.

Place Names

When Nameberry looked back on the recent baby-naming trends, it found that naming kids after cities, states and countries was a huge trend. Certainly, Santiago — as in Santiago, Chile — fits the bill, and it's already popped up a couple of times on this list. But, if you're looking for other destination-inspired monikers, try one of these names:

Agustín
Cali
Cristobal
Galo
Laredo
Madrid
Melo
Navarro
Paz
Rio

If these don't give you inspiration for a baby name, they surely make you want to go book a trip!

Looking for more great baby names?

Check out these Good Housekeeping lists:

Marisa LaScala

Senior Parenting & Relationships Editor

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.