Romulo
Masculine · “Latin Roma”
Romulus is a made-up person. His name is formed from Roma, not the other way round, and the whole biography of twins, a she-wolf and a fratricide was assembled to explain a city name nobody could account for. It is the ancient world's standard method, applied to its most famous case.
How old is the name Romulo?
Romulo first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Romulo alive today was born around 1981, making them about 44 years old. About 700 people named Romulo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Romulo most popular?
Romulo peaked in 1966, reaching #2132 nationally. Today it ranks #8910, 6,778 places below that high. See the whole 1966 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Roma to Romulo
The story of Romulo
The Romans themselves were not unanimous about the story. Several ancient writers record alternative founders, including a Trojan woman named Roma who burned the ships, and the twins version had competitors well into the republic. What settled it was Virgil and Livy, writing under Augustus, who needed a single coherent foundation and gave it authority. The details are diagnostic: a name formed from the place, a suckling animal, an exposed infant and a killed brother are all standard motifs, and the same package attaches to Sargon of Akkad, to Cyrus, to Moses and to Oedipus. Romulus is therefore best read as a piece of literature rather than a person, which does not diminish him; the story is one of the most consequential ever written and it gave a real city a usable past.
Meaning
Latin Roma, the city
Romulo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Latin Romulus, formed from Roma with a diminutive ending, giving something like little Roman. The name is derived from the city's, not the city from the name; the founder is an eponymous ancestor invented to explain a place name of unknown, probably Etruscan, origin. The American peak is 1966.
How the name formed
- Roma
- Romulus
- Romulo
Related forms: Romulo · Romulus · Romolo
Pronouncing Romulo
ROH-moo-loh
Three syllables, stress on the first. Spanish writes an accent on the first syllable to mark it. Latin Romulus is stressed the same way.
Nicknames for Romulo
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
- 1912
- Most boys named
- 197016 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2132reached in 1966
- Change vs 2023
- −11.1%8 in 2025, from 9
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.
Romulo in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Romulo in Spanish — same name
- Romulus in Latin — same name
- Romolo in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Romulos among us
people named Romulo are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 213,510 born in 2025 was named Romulo
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 Charlene test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Romulo's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Charlene climbed just as high around 1945, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Charlene's path sketches the road Romulo is walking now.
Romulo 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
Romulo beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Romulo in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It refers to one of the best-known figures in Western tradition.
- Three syllables with an even, open rhythm.
- The Spanish pronunciation is completely regular.
- The figure is legendary rather than historical.
- Romulus and Romolo compete as forms in other languages.
- The name is derived from the city and carries no separate meaning.
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What they receive
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Romulo
Masculine · #8910 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Romulos 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 Romulo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Romulo in 2025?
- Romulo ranks #8910 among US boy names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Romulo?
- About 1 in every 213,510 US boys born in 2025 was named Romulo — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Romulo with classmates?
- Romulo will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Romulo
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 Romulo? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Romulo and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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