Guadalupe
Feminine · Arabic roots
Guadalupe is given to both — 66,916 girls and 25,081 boys since 1880. See Guadalupe as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Guadalupe begins as a river in the hills of Extremadura, in western Spain, and the first half of the name is Arabic: wādī, river — the same element behind Guadalquivir and Guadiana. From that river valley came a shrine, from the shrine a Marian title, and from the title one of the most widely carried names in the Spanish-speaking world. Four syllables that end on an open vowel, and a short form, Lupe, that has been in steady use for generations.
How old is the name Guadalupe?
Guadalupe was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Guadalupe alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 55,000 people named Guadalupe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Guadalupe most popular?
Guadalupe peaked in 1997, reaching #210 nationally. Today it ranks #1248, 1,038 places below that high. See the whole 1997 chart.
Guadalupe appears on these lists:
- Nine-letter names, the long end of the chart
- Spanish and Latin names with warmth
- Latin American and Caribbean names
- The best baby names starting with G
- all guides
Works in Spanish & Latino families too:
Where it comes from
From Wādī (Arabic, 'river') to Guadalupe
The story of Guadalupe
The name is a place before it is a person. A river in Extremadura carried it first, and beside that river stood a monastery whose statue of the Virgin became one of medieval Spain's great pilgrimage sites — Santa María de Guadalupe. Spanish ships took the title across the Atlantic, and after the sixteenth-century apparition account at Tepeyac, Our Lady of Guadalupe became the central Marian devotion of Mexico, honored each December 12. From there the name spread as a given name on a scale the Spanish original never reached, given to daughters and, in Mexican usage, to sons as well — often as a middle name after José.
Meaningscholars disagree
'River' plus a disputed second element — from the Spanish river Guadalupe
Everyone agrees on Guada-, from Arabic wādī, 'river'. The second part is unsettled: readings include Arabic al-lubb, variously glossed as 'hidden' or 'of black gravel', and a hybrid with Latin lupus, 'wolf', which is how 'river of the wolf' became the popular gloss. The wolf reading is the one you will see most often and the one etymologists trust least.
How the name formed
- WādīArabic, 'river'
- Guadaluperiver in Extremadura, Spain
- Santa María de GuadalupeMarian title
- Guadalupe
- Lupita
Related forms: Guadalupe · Guadalupe · Guadalupe · Guadalupe · Lupe · Lupita
Pronouncing Guadalupe
gwah-dah-LOO-peh
That is the Spanish pronunciation, with a clear final vowel. In English-speaking settings it often becomes gwah-duh-LOO-pee, and people who know the Texas river or the French Caribbean island may say gwah-duh-LOOP. All three are heard; the family's own version usually settles it.
Nicknames for Guadalupe
High
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 20011,342 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #210reached in 1997
- Change vs 2022
- −25.6%180 in 2025, from 242
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.
Guadalupe in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Guadalupe in Spanish — same name
- Guadalupe in Portuguese — same name
- Guadalupe in Catalan — same name
- Guadalupe in Italian — same name
- Lupe in Spanish — related form
- Lupita in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Illinois.
Guadalupes among us
people named Guadalupe are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 8,929 born in 2025 was named Guadalupe
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 Patrice test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Guadalupe's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Patrice climbed just as high around 1958, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Patrice's path sketches the road Guadalupe is walking now.
Guadalupe 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 Guadalupe is headed
Guadalupe should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Guadalupe beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Guadalupe in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One fixed spelling across Spanish, Portuguese and Italian — no variant spellings competing for it.
- Two long-established short forms, Lupe and Lupita, both ready-made and both able to stand alone.
- An unbroken record in US statistics stretching back to the very start of the data, without ever becoming a crowd.
- Recognized instantly across Latin America and Spain through the Marian title, which makes it travel well.
- The religious association is specific and strong: Guadalupe is first and foremost a Marian title, and most people who know the name will hear that first. Welcome for some families, more than they want for others.
- In Mexican usage this is a name for sons as well as daughters, usually paired with José. In US records it is counted as a girl's name, but a boy named Guadalupe is not an anomaly anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world.
- Four syllables and a pronunciation that shifts between Spanish and English mouths — expect gentle correcting, and expect Lupe to do a lot of the daily work.
- Guadalupe and Guadeloupe get mixed up in writing, so forms and emails may need a second look.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Guadalupe to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Guadalupe
Feminine · Arabic roots · #1248 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Guadalupes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 55,000 people named Guadalupe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Guadalupe in 2025?
- Guadalupe ranks #1248 among US girl names in 2025, with 180 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Guadalupe?
- About 1 in every 8,929 US girls born in 2025 was named Guadalupe — 180 in all.
- Will my child share the name Guadalupe with classmates?
- Guadalupe will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Guadalupe
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Maelyn#1248 · Navi#1250 · Kenia#1250 · Sharon#1250 · Hayley#1250 · Laylah#1250 · Solene#1250 · Juno#1250
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Guadalupe? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Guadalupe and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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