Delfino
Masculine · “Greek delphis”
The heir to the French throne was called the Dauphin because of a dolphin. The lords of the Viennois used one as their emblem, the province became the Dauphine, and when it was sold to France in 1349 the condition was that the king's eldest son should bear the title.
How old is the name Delfino?
Delfino first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Delfino alive today was born around 1970, making them about 55 years old. About 1,600 people named Delfino are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Delfino most popular?
Delfino peaked in 1941, reaching #1276 nationally. Today it ranks #9714, 8,438 places below that high. See the whole 1941 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From delphis to Delfino
The story of Delfino
Guigues IV, count of Albon in the twelfth century, used a dolphin on his arms and was nicknamed le Dauphin; his successors took it as a title and the territory came to be called the Dauphine. In 1349 the last independent Dauphin, Humbert II, sold the province to the French crown, and one of the terms was that the heir apparent should carry the title. From then until 1830 the eldest son of the king of France was the Dauphin, and the word passed into English and other languages as a general term for a designated successor, which is still how it is used in political journalism. So a heraldic fish on a minor Alpine lord's shield became the standard European word for an heir, and the animal's own name may come from a Greek word for a womb.
Meaning
Greek delphis, a dolphin
Delfino is the Spanish and Italian form of Delphinus, from Greek delphis, a dolphin, a word probably connected to delphys, a womb, from the animal's shape. It was borne by a fourth-century bishop of Bordeaux. The French royal title Dauphin comes from the same word by a separate route. The American peak is 1941.
How the name formed
- delphis
- Delphinus
- Delfino
Related forms: Delfino · Delfino · Dauphin
Pronouncing Delfino
del-FEE-noh
Three syllables, stress on the second. Spanish and Italian write f where Greek and Latin write ph.
Nicknames for Delfino
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
- 1913
- Most boys named
- 199536 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1276reached in 1941
- Change vs 2023
- −36.4%7 in 2025, from 11
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.
Delfino in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Delfino in Italian — same name
- Delfino in Spanish — same name
- Dauphin in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas.
Delfinos among us
people named Delfino are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 244,011 born in 2025 was named Delfino
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 Conrado test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Delfino's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Conrado climbed just as high around 1923, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Conrado's path sketches the road Delfino is walking now.
Delfino 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
Delfino beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Delfino in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Del works as a short form and is a name in its own right.
- The meaning is concrete and vivid.
- The Spanish pronunciation is completely regular.
- It is an ordinary word for an animal in Spanish and Italian.
- Three syllables is long for English-language settings.
- The 1941 peak places it in the war years.
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What they receive
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Delfino
Masculine · #9714 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Delfinos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,600 people named Delfino are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Delfino in 2025?
- Delfino ranks #9714 among US boy names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Delfino?
- About 1 in every 244,011 US boys born in 2025 was named Delfino — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Delfino with classmates?
- Delfino will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Delfino
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vern#9714 · Abrahm#9714 · Sid#9714 · Hartwell#9714 · Kwan#9714 · Adrean#9714 · Chancey#9714 · Bob#9714
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Delfino? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Delfino and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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