Rio
Feminine · “river”
Rio is given to both — 2,282 girls and 5,530 boys since 1880. See Rio as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Rio is a river in Spanish and Portuguese, and Rio de Janeiro is named for one the Portuguese thought they had found and had not.
How old is the name Rio?
Rio first appears in US birth records in 1930 — 95 years ago. The typical Rio alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 2,300 people named Rio are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rio most popular?
Rio peaked in 2021, reaching #1676 nationally. Today it ranks #1872, 196 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From rivus to Rio
The story of Rio
Portuguese navigators entered Guanabara Bay on 1 January 1502, took it for a river mouth, and called the place Rio de Janeiro — river of January. It is a bay, not a river. The Japanese Rio is separate and current. Both routes brought the name to America, where it appears for both sexes in current use.
Meaning
river
From the Spanish and Portuguese rio, 'river', from the Latin rivus, 'stream' — the same root as rival, from people who shared a watercourse and argued about it. A separate Japanese Rio is written with characters for 'village' and 'cherry'. Both are genuine.
How the name formed
- rivus
- rio
- Rio
Related forms: Río · Rio · 里桜
Pronouncing Rio
REE-oh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Spanish marks it Río and says it the same way.
Nicknames for Rio
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
- 1930
- Most girls named
- 2021124 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1676reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- −5.4%105 in 2025, from 111
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.
Rio in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Río in Spanish — same name
- Rio in Portuguese — same name
- 里桜 in Japanese — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Rios among us
people named Rio are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 15,307 born in 2025 was named Rio
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 Ellenor test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rio's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ellenor climbed just as high around 1908, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ellenor's path sketches the road Rio is walking now.
Rio 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 Rio is headed
Rio should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Rio beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rio in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The river meaning is concrete and the rival etymology is a genuinely good detail.
- That Rio de Janeiro is not on a river is a first-rate piece of naming history.
- Three letters, two syllables, and never misheard.
- It is an ordinary Spanish and Portuguese noun.
- The Brazilian city is a very strong association.
- It is thoroughly unisex and very short.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Rio to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Rio
Feminine · #1872 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rios are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,300 people named Rio are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rio in 2025?
- Rio ranks #1872 among US girl names in 2025, with 105 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rio?
- About 1 in every 15,307 US girls born in 2025 was named Rio — 105 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rio with classmates?
- Rio will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rio
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Sidney#1872 · Alessa#1872 · Kasey#1872 · Judy#1872 · Vallie#1872 · Aleya#1872 · Karmen#1872 · Nairobi#1867
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rio? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rio and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
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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