The Latinate Boys of 2014: Spanish, Italian and Portuguese Names in the Top 1000

Leonardo da Vinci

There is a very large Latin presence in the United States these days. Did you know that there are several Spanish, Italian and Portuguese names for boys that rank within the Top 1000 most popular names?

My favorite of the bunch is listed as the "Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Leonard" on Behind the Name. Leonardo fits all three origin categories with ease and yet it is familiar enough to English ears that it could be considered for American boys who do not have Latin origins. The part-Italian Leonardo DiCaprio has helped make the name more mainstream in America. Interestingly, his name was chosen when his pregnant mother felt him kick for the first time while his parents were viewing a painting by Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo isn't the only name that works across all three of these cultures though.  Below are all of the Latinate names and their popularity rank for the year 2014 in the US.

Let's take a look at the first half of the Top 1000 first:

Angel #67                                         Jose #76 Juan #98 Luis #99 Mateo #106 Jesus #111 Leonardo  #114 Santiago #115 Carlos #117 Giovanni #125 Diego #129 Antonio #139 Miguel #146 Alejandro #157 Luca #185 Jorge #207 Javier #216 Andres #222 Lorenzo #227 Francisco #232 Emiliano #254 Ricardo #256 Eduardo #261 Fernando #263 Manuel #265 Josue #269 Mario #270 Cristian #273 Cesar #279

Emilio #280 Cruz #290 Rafael #293 Sergio #307 Marco #308 Angelo #315 Fabian #325 Joaquin #326 Romeo #341 Roberto #343 Maximiliano #344 Pedro #354 Enzo #369 Adan #373 Matteo #375 Thiago #390 Esteban #392 Pablo #396 Armando #400 Gerardo #402 Marcos #404 Enrique #414 Raul #423 Leonel #430 Hugo #438 Julio #452 Jaime #468 Gustavo #482 Rodrigo #488

Within the Top 500, there are many very handsome, strong and stylish names for boys. Even though these are all of Spanish, Italian or Portuguese origin, some are no doubt given to boys who do not have those ancestries. For example, I could see a blond, blue-eyed boy sporting the names Luca, Cruz or Hugo these days.  It would be inaccurate to claim that all of these Latinate names belong only to those with the corresponding heritage. Do you know anyone with these names?

Here are the names in the second half of the Top 1000 chart in the US for 2014:

Matias #503                                     Alberto #513 Gianni #515 Arturo #518 Alfredo #524 Alonzo #525 Arlo #539 Isaias #547 Neymar #548 Luciano #568 Ezequiel #569 Mauricio #577 Matthias #580 Mathias #582 Salvador #600 Lucian #608 Alessandro #623 Santino #632 Aldo #645 Ramon #647 Ernesto #651 Carmelo #653 Tomas #658 Guillermo #678 Alonso #708 Felipe #713 Lucca #740 Marcelo #741 Vicente #744 Aron #745

Ulises #749 Jadiel #756 Valentino #765 Giovani #769 Rogelio #780 Leandro #784 Vincenzo #812 Franco #817 Giancarlo #823 Alfonso #849 Jairo #865 Crisiano #872 Agustin #879 Rey #884 Santana #887 Ramiro #890 Salvatore #899 Rolando #905 Santos #909 Jovani #920 Maximo #921 Alvaro #922 Jovanni #943 Rodolfo #945 Eliseo #952 Camilo #962 Efrain #963 Deangelo #968 Giovanny #969 Dario #971 Osvaldo #989

While most of these names are still very handsome, strong and stylish, they are also a bit more on the unusual side than the names at the top of the charts.  The one name that stands out in this bunch is Arlo. It is a Spanish name but it has been climbing the charts rapidly in the last couple years which indicates that more than just Spanish boys are being given the name. Do you have any favorites in this bunch?

Unless I missed any, that makes 119 Spanish, Italian or Portuguese names for boys within the Top 1000! Which names do you love, which are you not keen on?