Roberto
Feminine · “Bright fame”
Roberto is given to boys far more often — 112,643 boys against 834 girls since 1880. See Roberto as a boy name
Roberto is a Germanic name that Italian and Spanish have kept for well over a thousand years, and the most admired man to carry it in America died in an aircraft loaded with earthquake relief.
How old is the name Roberto?
Roberto first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Roberto alive today was born around 1974, making them about 51 years old. About 700 people named Roberto are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Roberto most popular?
Roberto peaked in 1933, reaching #2540 nationally. See the whole 1933 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Hrodebert to Roberto
The story of Roberto
He had insisted on flying with the supplies because earlier shipments had been diverted by the regime and he believed his presence would stop it. The overloaded aircraft went down offshore minutes after takeoff on the last night of the year, and his body was never recovered. The Hall of Fame waived its five-year waiting period and elected him within months — only the second time that had been done — and the award for sportsmanship and community work now carries his name. He had reached his three thousandth hit in his last at-bat of the season before, which nobody knew at the time would be the last.
Meaning
Bright fame
The two Germanic elements mean fame and bright, in that order. The name traveled into the Romance languages early and was fully naturalized in both Italy and Spain long before it reached English-speaking America.
How the name formed
- Hrodebert
- Roberto
Related forms: Roberto · Roberto · Robert · Rui
Pronouncing Roberto
roh-BAIR-toh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. The r is tapped in both Spanish and Italian.
Nicknames for Roberto
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
- 1917
- Most girls named
- 198824 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2540reached in 1933
- Change vs 2003
- +28.6%9 in 2007, from 7
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.
Roberto in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Roberto in Italian — same name
- Roberto in Spanish — same name
- Robert in English — same name
- Rui in Portuguese — related form
Robertos among us
people named Roberto 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
Roberto 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 and grand without being strange.
- It is read correctly in English, Spanish and Italian without adjustment.
- It carries a short form in each of those languages.
- English speakers will flatten the middle vowel and the tapped r.
- It will be shortened to Rob or Bert by people who do not know the Spanish forms.
- The spelling is recorded for both sexes, though nearly every bearer in the record is a boy.
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What they receive
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Roberto
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Robertos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Roberto are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Roberto in 2025?
- Roberto is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Roberto with classmates?
- Roberto 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 Roberto? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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