Fidel
Masculine · “faithful”
Fidel is faithful, in Latin — fidelis, the root of fidelity and of the dog's name Fido, and the word in the Marines' semper fidelis.
How old is the name Fidel?
Fidel first appears in US birth records in 1892 — 133 years ago. The typical Fidel alive today was born around 1984, making them about 41 years old. About 8,800 people named Fidel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Fidel most popular?
Fidel peaked in 1959, reaching #630 nationally. Today it ranks #1867, 1,237 places below that high. See the whole 1959 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From fides to Fidel
The story of Fidel
Fidelis of Sigmaringen was a seventeenth-century Capuchin killed while preaching in Switzerland. Spanish took Fidel, which became standard across Latin America. Fidel Castro ruled Cuba from 1959 to 2008 and made the name internationally recognizable. It appears in American records and is in current use.
Meaning
faithful
From the Latin fidelis, 'faithful', from fides, 'faith' or 'trust'. The same root gives fidelity, confide, and the phrase semper fidelis. The Latin is ordinary and the meaning undisputed. Adeste Fideles addresses the faithful in the plural.
How the name formed
- fides
- fidelis
- Fidel
Related forms: Fidel · Fedele · Fidèle
Pronouncing Fidel
fee-DEL
Two syllables, stress on the second. Spanish says it the same way with a crisper first vowel.
Nicknames for Fidel
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
- 1892
- Most boys named
- 1997181 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #630reached in 1959
- Change vs 2022
- 0.0%84 in 2025, from 84
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.
Fidel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Fidel in Spanish — same name
- Fedele in Italian — related form
- Fidèle in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Arizona.
Fidels among us
people named Fidel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 20,334 born in 2025 was named Fidel
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 Aurelio test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Fidel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Aurelio climbed just as high around 1930, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Aurelio's path sketches the road Fidel is walking now.
Fidel 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 Fidel is headed
Fidel 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.
Fidel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Fidel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The faithful meaning is transparent, undisputed and thoroughly admirable.
- The link to semper fidelis and to fidelity is a genuinely good connection.
- The end stress gives it a strong rhythm against a front-stressed surname.
- The Cuban political association is total and polarising.
- It reads as specifically Spanish.
- Fido, the archetypal dog name, comes from the same root.
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What they receive
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Fidel
Masculine · #1867 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Fidels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 8,800 people named Fidel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Fidel in 2025?
- Fidel ranks #1867 among US boy names in 2025, with 84 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Fidel?
- About 1 in every 20,334 US boys born in 2025 was named Fidel — 84 in all.
- Will my child share the name Fidel with classmates?
- Fidel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Fidel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Bryar#1867 · Coby#1867 · Klay#1867 · Brighton#1867 · Jakhari#1867 · Ishan#1867 · Kasper#1867 · Armon#1867
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Fidel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Fidel and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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