Basilio
Masculine · “Greek "royal”
Basil the herb was believed to breed scorpions. Medieval and Renaissance herbals record the claim in detail — that the leaves left under a stone would generate them, or that smelling it bred a scorpion in the brain — and the plant kept its royal name through several centuries of that reputation.
How old is the name Basilio?
Basilio first appears in US birth records in 1904 — 121 years ago. The typical Basilio alive today was born around 1969, making them about 56 years old. About 1,200 people named Basilio are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Basilio most popular?
Basilio peaked in 1904, reaching #1205 nationally. Today it ranks #7679, 6,474 places below that high. See the whole 1904 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From basileus to Basilio
The story of Basilio
The scorpion story goes back at least to Pliny and circulated in European herbals for well over a thousand years; Nicholas Culpeper was still repeating and disputing it in 1653. Sweet basil was nonetheless grown and eaten throughout the period, which suggests the belief was held loosely. The word basileus meanwhile produced basilica, originally a royal hall and then a church of a particular plan, and basilisk, the little king among serpents. Basil is a major Orthodox name — Basil II ruled Byzantium for fifty years — and Basilio is standard in Italy and Spain. The American figures peak in 1904 with Italian and Hispanic immigration.
Meaning
Greek "royal, kingly"
From basileios, royal, from basileus, a king. Basil the Great, the fourth-century bishop of Caesarea, gave the name to the Church, and it became one of the most common names in the Greek and Slavic Orthodox world. The herb takes the same word, called the royal plant in Greek, and the basilica and the basilisk share the root. Basilio is the Italian and Spanish form.
How the name formed
- basileus
- basileios
- Basilius
- Basilio
Related forms: Basilio · Basilio · Vasily · Βασίλειος
Pronouncing Basilio
bah-SEE-lyoh
Three or four syllables, stress on the second, with the final -io said as a single glide in Spanish and Italian. English Basil is BAZZ-ul or BAY-zul depending on country.
Nicknames for Basilio
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
- 1904
- Most boys named
- 199028 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1205reached in 1904
- Change vs 2023
- +66.7%10 in 2025, from 6
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.
Basilio in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Basilio in Spanish — same name
- Basilio in Italian — same name
- Vasily in Russian — same name
- Βασίλειος in Greek — same name
Basilios among us
people named Basilio are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 170,808 born in 2025 was named Basilio
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Basilio 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
Basilio beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Basilio in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled and dignified: royal.
- It is established in Italian, Spanish, Greek and Slavic naming.
- Basi and Lio work as short forms.
- It shares its root with a common kitchen herb.
- English speakers move the stress and reduce the vowels.
- It is rare in America outside Italian and Hispanic families.
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Basilio
Masculine · #7679 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Basilios are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Basilio are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Basilio in 2025?
- Basilio ranks #7679 among US boy names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Basilio?
- About 1 in every 170,808 US boys born in 2025 was named Basilio — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Basilio with classmates?
- Basilio will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Basilio
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Early#7679 · Obie#7679 · Huston#7679 · Knute#7679 · Rance#7679 · Blain#7679 · Doyle#7679 · Millard#7679
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Basilio? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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