Halo
Halo was the 613th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 477 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 513th with 600 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 999 places. More babies were named Halo in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning halo, a ring of light · Greek, Latin, English
Say it HAY-loh /ˈheɪloʊ/
- Rank in 2025
- #613 girls, up 325 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 477girls
- Girls and boys
- 77% girls, 23% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2024600 babies
- Total since 1880
- 5,512babies recorded
What does the name Halo mean?
Halo is a modern word name for the ring of light drawn around the heads of saints, or seen around the sun or moon. The American Heritage Dictionary traces it to Medieval Latin halo, from Latin halos and Greek halōs, a threshing floor, then the disk around the sun or moon. Wiktionary also records Halo as a nickname for players of the Los Angeles Angels baseball team, after the halo in its logo. As a given name Halo appears in US records from 2000.
ἅλως (Ancient Greek, “threshing floor; disk of the sun or moon”)
How sure is this? Well established. The word's history is clear; the given name is a recent coinage.
See also: English names, names that mean light.
Sources for this meaning
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., entry 'halo' (etymology), HarperCollins / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Wiktionary, entry 'Halo' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Halo popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #613 | #931 | 477 | 253 |
| 2020 | #938 | #3,678 | 274 | 29 |
| 2010 | #1,484 | #4,283 | 152 | 23 |
| 2000 | #12,256 | — | 7 | — |
| 1990 | — | — | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Halo, counting every spelling?
Halo has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #614 for girls in 2025, against #613 on the official list, because Kaylin/Kaylynn/Kailyn and Eileen/Aileen/Ayleen and Jayleen/Jaylene/Jaelynn move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Halo?
477 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Halo (0.13 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Halo born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 18 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Halo.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Halo?
About 4,500 people born in the US named Halo are alive today, with a median age of 5; half are between 3 and 10. That makes Halo a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Halo by state
How common Halo was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Georgia (2.6×), Maryland (2.5×), South Carolina (2.5×), Louisiana (2.2×), Alabama (2.2×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Colorado, Massachusetts, Washington.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Halo: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Halo, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Halo · Sibling names for Halo
Questions about the name Halo
What does Halo mean?
Halo means “halo, a ring of light” (Greek, Latin, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Halo?
Halo was the 613th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 477 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 513th with 600 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 999 places. More babies were named Halo in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Halo a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 77% girls, 23% boys given the name Halo in the US.
Where is Halo most popular?
In 2021–2025, Halo was most common in Georgia (0.77 per 1,000 girls), followed by Maryland and South Carolina.