Azul
Feminine · Persian roots · “blue”
Azul is given to both — 4,547 girls and 338 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Azul is the Spanish and Portuguese word for blue, and the word itself traveled a long way before it became a name — from Persian into Arabic, into medieval Spanish, and on into English as "azure." It is four letters, two syllables, and a color anyone who speaks Spanish knows on sight.
How old is the name Azul?
Azul first appears in US birth records in 1995 — 30 years ago. The typical Azul alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 4,500 people named Azul are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Azul most popular?
Azul peaked in 2008, reaching #615 nationally. Today it ranks #1318, 703 places below that high. See the whole 2008 chart.
Where it comes from
From lāzhward (Persian) to Azul
The story of Azul
The word arrived in Spain with the stone: Persian lāzhward and Arabic lāzaward named lapis lazuli, and medieval Spanish reshaped it into azur and then azul, losing the initial l along the way to the article. The same root gave French azur, Italian azzurro and English azure, so Azul is a cousin of words the reader already knows. As a given name it belongs mainly to the Spanish-speaking world, where it is used for girls, and it is also the name of a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Spanish-American letters gave the word a further life in 1888, when the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío published his collection Azul..., a founding text of modernismo.
Meaning
blue
Azul is the ordinary Spanish and Portuguese adjective for the color blue. It traces back through Old Spanish azur to Arabic lāzaward and Persian lāzhward, the words for lapis lazuli, the stone that gave Europe its deepest blue pigment.
How the name formed
- lāzhwardPersian
- lāzawardArabic
- azurOld Spanish
- azulSpanish
- Azul
Related forms: Azul · Azur · Azzurra · Azure · Blava
Pronouncing Azul
ah-SOOL
In Spanish the z is an s sound and the stress falls on the second syllable. English speakers often say uh-ZOOL with a buzzing z; both are widely heard in the US, so it helps to decide early which one your family will use.
Nicknames for Azul
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1995
- Most girls named
- 2008497 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #615reached in 2008
- Change vs 2024
- −6.6%169 in 2025, from 181
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Azul in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Azul in Portuguese — same name
- Azur in French — related form
- Azzurra in Italian — related form
- Azure in English — related form
- Blava in Catalan — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Arizona.
Azuls among us
people named Azul are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 9,510 born in 2025 was named Azul
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Norine test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Azul's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Norine climbed just as high around 1912, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Norine's path sketches the road Azul is walking now.
Azul is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Azul is headed
Azul looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 18% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Azul beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Azul in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled exactly as it sounds in Spanish, and short enough to fit any form or nameplate.
- A real word in two major languages, so it is instantly recognizable to Spanish and Portuguese speakers.
- Related in root to azure, azur and azzurro, giving it recognizable cousins across Europe.
- Has been climbing steadily rather than spiking, so it is familiar without being crowded.
- Because it is an everyday Spanish word, some people will hear "blue" first and a name second. Among Spanish speakers that is unremarkable; in English-only settings it may draw a comment or two.
- The s-versus-z pronunciation will need correcting fairly often, and roll calls will land on whichever version the reader's teacher guesses.
- She is unlikely to meet another Azul in school. That means the name stays hers, and also that it will be spelled aloud more than most.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Azul to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Azul
Feminine · Persian roots · #1318 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Azuls are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,500 people named Azul are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Azul in 2025?
- Azul ranks #1318 among US girl names in 2025, with 169 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Azul?
- About 1 in every 9,510 US girls born in 2025 was named Azul — 169 in all.
- Will my child share the name Azul with classmates?
- Azul will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Azul
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jaylah#1318 · Miyori#1318 · Ailyn#1318 · Emberlyn#1318 · Zamira#1318 · Liah#1318 · Rue#1318 · Cara#1326
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Azul? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Azul and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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