My Favorite Latino Baby Names!

The unique O-ending makes this name memorable, especially for someone with ties to Texas.

Softer and smoother than Alexander, this classic Spanish name for boys has made a seamless transition to this culture. Adding to its current impact: the Lady Gaga song Alejandro .

Antonio is a Shakespearean favorite -- the Bard used it in no less than five of his plays, and has long been a ubiquitous classic in Spanish-speaking countries, where the nickname Tonio is also prevalent. Antonio is also among an elite group of perennially popular names in the US, where it has always been among the boys' Top 1000 since baby name record-keeping started in 1880.

For the parent who might also have Buck and Ryder on his list.

Canyon is a unique baby name evocative of natural splendor and the old Steve Canyon comic-strip heroism, making it an intriguing new word-name possibility.

Carlos is the Spanish and Portuguese variation of Charles, which has been used in solid numbers in the US for as long as data has been kept. Carlos has never fallen out of the Top 600, but peaked from the 70s-early 2000s. Today Carlos is still within the Top 200. Notable namesakes include musician Santana, writers Fuentes and Castaneda, and numerous athletes. Carlos Irwin Estevez is the birth name of Charlie Sheen.

The perfect Latin-accented hero name to honor labor activist César Chavez.

The energetic Diego is rising rapidly along with a lot of other authentically Spanish baby names that work perfectly well with surnames of any origin.

A stalwart of Latin nomenclature that could work just as well for Anglos. Proof lies with the celebrity birth announcement — Hilaria and Alec Baldwin named their fifth child Eduardo Pau Lucas in 2020. This doesn't seem to have much impact on other parents, though: over 900 boys received the name in 2021, but the number is steadily decreasing.

Emiliano and Emilio are the appealing Latinate version of Emil. Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, who helped establish modern Mexico.

Dashing and popular Italian and Spanish favorite, as is Emiliano. With the popularity of girl names Emily and Emilia and of Italian names for boys, this one is sure to receive more attention.

This is an appealing name that could cross cultural borders, but it has lost ground in recent years.

While Faust, who sold his soul to the devil, was anything but fortunate, this Latinate variation is more commonly heard and accepted.

Francisco is one of the more popular Spanish names for boys in the US, which is unsurprising given its popularity back in Spain and Portugal as well as Latin America, coupled with its classic status. It also has a cool hipster vibe to it, given the reputation of the city of San Francisco.

Widely used in the Latino community, the name gained renown in the nineties for its association with rapper Gerardo Mejía of 'Rico Suave' fame.

Ignacio, like Horacio, makes its gray-bearded English equivalent name sound positively dashing. While the Ig- beginning summons up such associations as ignoble and ignorant, the era for Ignacio and Ignatius and Iggy may be nigh.