Gaetano
Masculine · “from Gaeta”
Gaetano means a man from Gaeta, a fortified port on the Italian coast whose own name is claimed by legend for Aeneas's nurse.
How old is the name Gaetano?
Gaetano first appears in US birth records in 1904 — 121 years ago. The typical Gaetano alive today was born around 1956, making them about 69 years old. About 2,100 people named Gaetano are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gaetano most popular?
Gaetano peaked in 1914, reaching #632 nationally. Today it ranks #3949, 3,317 places below that high. See the whole 1914 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Caieta to Gaetano
The story of Gaetano
Virgil has Aeneas name the harbor for his nurse, which is the sort of etymology poets supply and philologists distrust. Gaeta was a substantial medieval maritime city. Saint Gaetano of Thiene, who founded the Theatines in the sixteenth century, made the name a common one in southern Italy, and it reaches American records in large numbers with Italian emigration around 1900.
Meaning
from Gaeta
From Latin Caietanus, of Caieta; the Aeneid says the town was named for Aeneas's nurse Caieta, buried there, which is a poet's explanation rather than a linguistic one. The real origin of the place name is not settled.
How the name formed
- Caieta
- Caietanus
- Gaetano
Related forms: Gaetano · Cayetano · Caietanus
Pronouncing Gaetano
gy-eh-TAH-noh
Four syllables with the stress on the third. Every letter is sounded in Italian.
Nicknames for Gaetano
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
- 191777 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #632reached in 1914
- Change vs 2023
- +68.8%27 in 2025, from 16
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.
Gaetano in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gaetano in Italian — same name
- Cayetano in Spanish — same name
- Caietanus in Latin — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Illinois.
Gaetanos among us
people named Gaetano are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 63,262 born in 2025 was named Gaetano
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
Gaetano 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 Gaetano is headed
Gaetano should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Gaetano beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Gaetano in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning tied to a real and historically substantial place.
- Tano is the established Italian short form and is warm and usable.
- Substantial early twentieth-century American use behind it.
- Seven letters and four syllables is a great deal for early handwriting.
- Americans do not know where the stress falls or how to start it.
- It reads as strongly of an older generation to Italian speakers.
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What they receive
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Gaetano
Masculine · #3949 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Gaetanos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Gaetano are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gaetano in 2025?
- Gaetano ranks #3949 among US boy names in 2025, with 27 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Gaetano?
- About 1 in every 63,262 US boys born in 2025 was named Gaetano — 27 in all.
- Will my child share the name Gaetano with classmates?
- Gaetano will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Gaetano
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Stewart#3949 · Tillman#3949 · Ashley#3949 · Alfonzo#3949 · Blane#3949 · Brayton#3949 · Omega#3949 · Rufus#3949
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gaetano? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Gaetano and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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