Indigo
Indigo was the 854th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 318 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 893 places. More babies were named Indigo in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning indigo (dye and color) · English, Spanish, Greek
Say it IN-dih-goh /ˈɪndɪɡoʊ/
- Rank in 2025
- #854 girls, up 174 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 318girls
- Girls and boys
- 74% girls, 26% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2025318 babies
- Total since 1880
- 5,242babies recorded
What does the name Indigo mean?
Indigo is the name of a deep blue dye and color, used as a given name. The word came into English in the 16th century from Spanish or Portuguese índigo, from Latin indicum, from Greek indikon 'Indian (dye)', because the dye came from India. As a given name it is modern and used for both sexes, often with the spiritual associations of the 'indigo children' idea of the 1970s and later.
indicum (Latin, “indigo”)ἰνδικόν (indikon) (Ancient Greek, “Indian (dye)”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Indie, Indy, India.
See also: English names, names that mean a color.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'indigo' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Indigo' (German section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Nicknames for Indigo
The usual nicknames for Indigo are Indie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Indigo in the last five years, 167 were named Indie, against 19 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indie · also for India | Modern | #634 | 2,414 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Indigos go by each one.
Indigo popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #854 | #1,531 | 318 | 113 |
| 2020 | #1,028 | #1,985 | 244 | 72 |
| 2010 | #2,794 | #4,742 | 63 | 20 |
| 2000 | #2,750 | #4,662 | 53 | 16 |
| 1990 | #5,934 | — | 15 | — |
| 1980 | — | — | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Indigo, counting every spelling?
Indigo has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #836 for girls in 2025, against #854 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Indigo?
318 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Indigo (0.09 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Indigo 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 26 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Indigo.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Indigo?
About 4,000 people born in the US named Indigo are alive today, with a median age of 8; half are between 4 and 19. That makes Indigo 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.
Indigo by state
How common Indigo was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Oregon (3.2×), Utah (2.7×), Nevada (2.4×), Colorado (2.2×), South Carolina (1.8×). In 20 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Indigo: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Indigo, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Indigo · Sibling names for Indigo
Questions about the name Indigo
What does Indigo mean?
Indigo means “indigo (dye and color)” (English, Spanish, Greek origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Indigo?
Indigo was the 854th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 318 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 893 places. More babies were named Indigo in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Indigo a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 74% girls, 26% boys given the name Indigo in the US.
Where is Indigo most popular?
In 2021–2025, Indigo was most common in Oregon (0.57 per 1,000 girls), followed by Utah and Hawaii.