Jairo
Masculine · “he shines”
Jairo is the Spanish form of a name that reaches back to Hebrew Ya'ir and comes into Western Europe through the Gospel figure Jairus. Two syllables, five letters, and in Spanish the J opens with a soft breath rather than a hard consonant — HY-roh, close in shape to Cairo. It has been on American records for decades without ever crowding a classroom.
How old is the name Jairo?
Jairo first appears in US birth records in 1950 — 75 years ago. The typical Jairo alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 11,500 people named Jairo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jairo most popular?
Jairo peaked in 2008, reaching #556 nationally. Today it ranks #935, 379 places below that high. See the whole 2008 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Ya'ir to Jairo
The story of Jairo
The name begins as the Hebrew Ya'ir, borne in the Hebrew Bible by Jair the Gileadite, one of the judges of Israel. Greek-speaking writers of the New Testament rendered it Iaeiros, and Latin Bibles Jairus — the synagogue leader in the Gospels of Mark and Luke whose daughter Jesus is described as raising. From the Latin scriptures the name settled into Spanish and Portuguese as Jairo and Jair, staying in use across Latin America and Iberia while English kept only the biblical Jairus. It came into American records through Spanish-speaking families, and its strongest footing is still in California, Texas and Florida.
Meaning
he shines, he enlightens
From the Hebrew Ya'ir, built on the root for light; often rendered 'he will give light' or 'he will enlighten'.
How the name formed
- Ya'ir
- Iaeiros
- Jairus
- Jairo
Related forms: Yair · Jair · Jairus · Jaïre · Iaeiros
Pronouncing Jairo
HY-roh
In Spanish the J is a soft breath, giving HY-roh with the stress on the first syllable. English speakers who have not met the name often try JAY-roh, so expect to correct it occasionally.
Nicknames for Jairo
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
- 1950
- Most boys named
- 2008473 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #556reached in 2008
- Change vs 2024
- +1.6%251 in 2025, from 247
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.
Jairo in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Yair in Hebrew — same name
- Jair in Portuguese — related form
- Jairus in English — same name
- Jaïre in French — same name
- Iaeiros in Greek — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Jairos among us
people named Jairo are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 6,805 born in 2025 was named Jairo
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 Marie test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jairo's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Marie climbed just as high around 1902, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Marie's path sketches the road Jairo is walking now.
Jairo 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 Jairo is headed
Jairo 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.
Jairo beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jairo in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented line from Hebrew Ya'ir through Greek and Latin scripture into Spanish — an unbroken record of use across languages.
- Five letters, two syllables, and one spelling in Spanish, with no competing variants to sort out.
- Familiar sister forms in several languages — Yair in Hebrew, Jair in Portuguese, Jairus in English Bibles.
- Strongly established in California, Texas and Florida, where the Spanish pronunciation is readily understood.
- The J will be read two ways depending on who is reading. In Spanish it is HY-roh; many English speakers will reach for JAY-roh first, and a lifetime of small corrections comes with the name.
- Outside the states where it is best established, it may need spelling out over the phone — Jairo, Cairo and Jairus all sound close in unfamiliar ears.
- He is unlikely to meet another Jairo at school. That means no surname initial to distinguish him, but also no shared name to grow tired of.
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What they receive
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Jairo
Masculine · #935 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jairos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 11,500 people named Jairo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jairo in 2025?
- Jairo ranks #935 among US boy names in 2025, with 251 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jairo?
- About 1 in every 6,805 US boys born in 2025 was named Jairo — 251 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jairo with classmates?
- Jairo will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jairo
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Syaire#935 · Massimo#935 · Kreed#935 · Krue#935 · Judson#934 · Rowdy#940 · Khalid#940 · Veer#940
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jairo? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jairo and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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