Modesto
Masculine · “Latin modestus”
The town of Modesto in California is named for a refusal. When the railroad reached the site in 1870 the plan was to name it for the banker William Ralston, who declined the honor; a Spanish-speaking bystander is said to have remarked on his modesty, and the name stuck. A place named for a man saying no.
How old is the name Modesto?
Modesto first appears in US birth records in 1908 — 117 years ago. The typical Modesto alive today was born around 1967, making them about 58 years old. About 1,700 people named Modesto are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Modesto most popular?
Modesto peaked in 1908, reaching #1113 nationally. Today it ranks #8910, 7,797 places below that high. See the whole 1908 chart.
Where it comes from
From modestus to Modesto
The story of Modesto
The Central Pacific Railroad laid out a town in Stanislaus County in 1870 and the directors proposed naming it after William Chapman Ralston, the San Francisco banker who had financed much of the region's development. Ralston refused. The story recorded locally is that a Spanish-speaking man present remarked on his modesty, and the town was named Modesto instead, which preserves the refusal rather than the name. It is an unusual sort of commemoration: the place records a virtue attributed to a man who is otherwise absent from it. American place-naming is full of railroad decisions like this, made quickly by committees for practical reasons, and a surprising share of the western map comes from a directors' meeting rather than from any local history at all.
Meaning
Latin modestus, moderate or restrained
Modesto is the Spanish and Italian form of Latin Modestus, from modus, a measure, giving moderate, restrained or unassuming. It was borne by several early martyrs and is an ordinary given name across the Spanish and Italian-speaking worlds. The California city takes its name from the same word. The American peak of the given name is 1908.
How the name formed
- modestus
- Modesto
Related forms: Modesto · Modesto · Modestus
Pronouncing Modesto
moh-DES-toh
Three syllables, stress on the second. Spanish, Italian and the California city are all said the same way.
Nicknames for Modesto
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
- 1908
- Most boys named
- 192737 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1113reached in 1908
- Change vs 2023
- −38.5%8 in 2025, from 13
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.
Modesto in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Modesto in Spanish — same name
- Modesto in Italian — same name
- Modestus in Latin — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Modestos among us
people named Modesto are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 213,510 born in 2025 was named Modesto
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
Modesto 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
Modesto beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Modesto in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is transparent to Spanish, Italian and English speakers alike.
- Three syllables with clear middle stress.
- It has an unbroken history from Roman antiquity.
- It is an ordinary adjective in Spanish and Italian.
- A California city dominates recognition in the United States.
- The 1908 peak places it in the immigrant generation.
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What they receive
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Modesto
Masculine · #8910 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Modestos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Modesto are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Modesto in 2025?
- Modesto ranks #8910 among US boy names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Modesto?
- About 1 in every 213,510 US boys born in 2025 was named Modesto — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Modesto with classmates?
- Modesto will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Modesto
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Davie#8910 · Ned#8910 · Darious#8910 · Alois#8910 · Len#8910 · Barton#8910 · Desmon#8910 · Winfield#8910
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Modesto? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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