Baltazar
Masculine · “may Bel protect the king”
Baltazar is one of the three names tradition gives the magi, and it is much older than that story. Underneath it is a Babylonian sentence asking a god to protect a king — a name from the court of Nebuchadnezzar, carried west by the Bible and by legend.
How old is the name Baltazar?
Baltazar first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Baltazar alive today was born around 1994, making them about 31 years old. About 2,300 people named Baltazar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Baltazar most popular?
Baltazar peaked in 1948, reaching #1519 nationally. Today it ranks #2798, 1,279 places below that high. See the whole 1948 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Bel-shar-usur to Baltazar
The story of Baltazar
Belshazzar appears in the book of Daniel as the king who sees writing on the wall at his own feast. Separately, the gospel of Matthew describes wise men from the east without naming or numbering them, and later Christian tradition supplied both — three of them, called Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. That tradition made the name ordinary across Catholic Europe, and in Spanish-speaking countries the three kings are the ones who bring gifts at Epiphany rather than at Christmas, which keeps the name warm. It reaches United States records mostly from Mexican and Central American families.
Meaning
may Bel protect the king
From Akkadian Bel-shar-usur: Bel, the title of the Babylonian god Marduk, with a phrase meaning 'protect the king'. Hebrew rendered it Belshazzar and Greek Baltasar. The reading is documented. Baltazar is the Spanish, Portuguese and Polish spelling; Balthasar is the German and older English one.
How the name formed
- Bel-shar-usur
- Belshazzar
- Baltasar
- Baltazar
Related forms: Baltasar · Balthasar · Baltazar · Baltazar · Baldassare
Pronouncing Baltazar
bahl-tah-SAR
Three syllables with the stress on the last, in Spanish and Portuguese. English speakers usually say BAL-thuh-zar with the stress at the front, and the th of the German spelling is said as a plain t in every language that uses it.
Nicknames for Baltazar
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
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 200159 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1519reached in 1948
- Change vs 2023
- +32.4%45 in 2025, from 34
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.
Baltazar in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Baltasar in Spanish — spelling variant
- Balthasar in German — same name
- Baltazar in Polish — same name
- Baltazar in Portuguese — same name
- Baldassare in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Baltazars among us
people named Baltazar are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 37,957 born in 2025 was named Baltazar
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 Paulino test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Baltazar's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Paulino climbed just as high around 1928, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Paulino's path sketches the road Baltazar is walking now.
Baltazar sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Baltazar is headed
Baltazar looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 20% 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.
Baltazar beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Baltazar in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented history running from Babylon through the Bible into Christian legend.
- Balta and Zar are both usable short forms in different registers.
- Long and formal, which pairs well with a short surname.
- Baltazar, Baltasar and Balthasar are all standard in different countries.
- The stress moves between Spanish and English sayings, so the child will hear two versions.
- Three syllables and an unfamiliar shape mean it will be spelled out often in the United States.
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What they receive
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Baltazar
Masculine · #2798 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Baltazars are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,300 people named Baltazar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Baltazar in 2025?
- Baltazar ranks #2798 among US boy names in 2025, with 45 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Baltazar?
- About 1 in every 37,957 US boys born in 2025 was named Baltazar — 45 in all.
- Will my child share the name Baltazar with classmates?
- Baltazar will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Baltazar
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Murad#2798 · Hamzah#2798 · Hutson#2798 · Rickey#2798 · Nicodemus#2798 · Chayce#2798 · Amor#2798 · Jaiceon#2798
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Baltazar? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Baltazar and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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