Refugio
Feminine · “Refuge”
Refugio is given to both — 863 girls and 3,984 boys since 1880. See Refugio as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Refugio is the Spanish word for a refuge, given as a name to both sexes, and in Texas it is also a town, a county and the last mission the Spanish built in the province.
How old is the name Refugio?
Refugio first appears in US birth records in 1890 — 135 years ago. The typical Refugio alive today was born around 1926, making them about 99 years old. About 200 people named Refugio are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Refugio most popular?
Refugio peaked in 1892, reaching #1085 nationally. See the whole 1892 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Refugio
The last mission founded in Spanish Texas was named for the refuge, built near the coast in the seventeen-nineties, moved twice because of flooding and raids, and abandoned within a generation when the mission system collapsed. The town that grew on the site kept the name, then gave it to the county, and the county gave it to a good many children — so a Spanish abstract noun ended up as an ordinary Texan place name and then as an ordinary Texan first name. The g in the middle is a small trap for English speakers: before an i, Spanish says it in the throat, much closer to an h than to the g of go, and almost nobody outside the Southwest gets it right on first sight.
Meaning
Refuge, shelter
The Spanish noun, used as a name by way of a religious title. It is given to men and women alike in Mexico and the Southwest, which English-speaking record-keepers have never known what to do with.
Pronouncing Refugio
reh-FOO-hyoh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. The g is said in the throat, like an h.
Nicknames for Refugio
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
- 1890
- Most girls named
- 191837 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1085reached in 1892
- Change vs 1983
- 0.0%5 in 1988, from 5
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.
Refugio in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Refugio in Spanish — same name
- Refúgio in Portuguese — same name
Refugios among us
people named Refugio are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Refugio sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, generous and unambiguous in Spanish.
- It is a real place name in Texas with a documented history.
- It carries a household short form that sounds nothing like it.
- English speakers will say a hard g, which is not how the name is said.
- It is given to both sexes in Spanish, which American forms handle badly.
- The spelling is recorded for both sexes here, with most of it going to boys.
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Refugio
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Refugios are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Refugio are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Refugio in 2025?
- Refugio is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Refugio with classmates?
- Refugio will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Ruth#173 · Rebecca#349 · Rachel#250 · Rose#114 · Ruby#64 · Robin#704 · Rita#1285 · Rhonda#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Refugio? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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