Coco
Feminine
Coco was Chanel's nickname from her cabaret days, and she never explained it — which has not stopped anyone guessing.
How old is the name Coco?
Coco first appears in US birth records in 1972 — 53 years ago. The typical Coco is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,900 people named Coco are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Coco most popular?
Coco peaked in 2020, reaching #1849 nationally. Today it ranks #2326, 477 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Coco
Our story of Coco is a story of a nickname nobody explained. Gabrielle Chanel sang in a cabaret before she made hats, and the name attached to her there; the accounts differ and she gave none. French uses reduplicated syllables affectionately for all sorts of names, and Coco serves as a pet form for Colette, Corinne and Nicole among others. American families began registering it outright in the 2000s. The woman is documented; the word is not.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No established etymology as a given name. It is a French affectionate reduplication used for several names, and Gabrielle Chanel's nickname of uncertain origin. It is not from the coconut or from cocoa. Honest sources record it as a nickname without a settled source.
Pronouncing Coco
KOH-koh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in French and English.
Nicknames for Coco
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
- 1972
- Most girls named
- 2020105 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1849reached in 2020
- Change vs 2024
- +2.6%78 in 2025, from 76
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.
Coco in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Coco in French — same name
- Cocoa in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Cocos among us
people named Coco are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 20,606 born in 2025 was named Coco
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Coco
- #2326
- Coco on the 2025 chart
- #874
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Coco went to 78 girls in 2025, but Koko is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 86, which makes it the 874th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,452 places above the chart.
- Coco78
- Koko8
About 1 girl in 18,689 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 20,606 for Coco itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Cherisse test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Coco's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Cherisse climbed just as high around 1974, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Cherisse's path sketches the road Coco is walking now.
Coco 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 Coco is headed
Coco should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Coco beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Coco in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Chanel is a first-rate bearer.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- Colette and Nicole are both available as fuller versions.
- There is no documented meaning.
- It reads as a nickname rather than a full name.
- One fashion house dominates the association.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Coco
Feminine · #2326 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Cocos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,900 people named Coco are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Coco?
- Coco is the most-used spelling in US records — 78 of the 86 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Koko.
- How popular is the name Coco in 2025?
- Coco ranks #2326 among US girl names in 2025, with 78 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Coco?
- About 1 in every 20,606 US girls born in 2025 was named Coco — 78 in all.
- Will my child share the name Coco with classmates?
- Coco will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Coco
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ria#2326 · Malaika#2326 · Delta#2326 · Caitlin#2326 · Tommie#2326 · Azalia#2326 · Audrina#2326 · Sitara#2326
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Coco? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Coco and another name?
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Which one would you pick?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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