Rio
Rio was the 532nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 563 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 517th with 593 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,045 places. More babies were named Rio in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning river (Spanish/Portuguese); also Rio de Janeiro · Spanish, Portuguese, Latin
Say it REE-oh /ˈrioʊ/
- Rank in 2025
- #532 boys, up 242 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 563boys
- Girls and boys
- 18% girls, 82% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2024593 babies
- Total since 1880
- 7,812babies recorded
What does the name Rio mean?
Rio is the Portuguese word for river (Spanish río), which the Real Academia Española traces to Latin rivus, a brook. Wiktionary also lists Rio as a short name for the Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro, and as a given name for boys and girls. It is not documented which of these American parents usually have in mind; the river word and the city are both plausible.
rio / río (Portuguese / Spanish, “river”)rīvus (Latin, “brook, stream”)
How sure is this? Probable. The word's meaning is clear; whether a given family takes Rio from 'river' or from Rio de Janeiro is not documented.
Related names: River, Río.
See also: Spanish names, names that mean water.
Sources for this meaning
- Real Academia Española, Diccionario de la lengua española (23rd ed., online), entry 'río' (etymology), Real Academia Española / ASALE
- Wiktionary, entry 'Rio' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
Rio popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,877 | #532 | 105 | 563 |
| 2020 | #2,047 | #774 | 91 | 305 |
| 2010 | #2,971 | #1,490 | 58 | 110 |
| 2000 | #3,503 | #1,778 | 38 | 62 |
| 1990 | #3,693 | #2,118 | 29 | 35 |
| 1980 | — | #3,570 | — | 12 |
| 1970 | — | #5,294 | — | 5 |
| 1960 | — | — | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — |
| 1930 | #3,607 | — | 8 | — |
| 1920 | — | #4,840 | — | 5 |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Rio, counting every spelling?
Rio is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #523 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #532 for Rio on its own. Together these spellings went to 575 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio | 563 | #532 | 2,603 |
| Reo | 12 | #7,102 | 70 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Rio?
563 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Rio (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Rio 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 15 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Rio.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Rio?
About 5,400 people born in the US named Rio are alive today, with a median age of 6; half are between 3 and 16. That makes Rio 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.
Rio by state
How common Rio was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Mexico (2.6×), Oregon (2.1×), California (2.1×), Colorado (2.0×), Arizona (1.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Rio: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Rio, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Rio · Sibling names for Rio
Questions about the name Rio
What does Rio mean?
Rio means “river (Spanish/Portuguese); also Rio de Janeiro” (Spanish, Portuguese, Latin origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Rio?
Rio was the 532nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 563 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 517th with 593 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,045 places. More babies were named Rio in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Rio a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 18% girls, 82% boys given the name Rio in the US.
Where is Rio most popular?
In 2021–2025, Rio was most common in New Mexico (0.79 per 1,000 boys), followed by Oregon and California.