My Favorite Latino Names!

Simple and universal, Marco is a Latin classic that would make a much livelier namesake for an Uncle Mark. It was used for her son by actress Jill Hennessy and goes well with surnames of any nationality.

Familiar via such notable Marios as Lanza, Cuomo, Andretti, Puzo, and Van Peebles, this Italian name has been fully integrated into the US.

Mateo vaulted into the boys' Top 10 in 2023, ranking all the way up at Number 6. Counting Mateo and Teo along with Anglo equivalents Theodore and Theo make this by far the Number 1 boys' name in the US.

This is a Spanish variation of Maximilian that has begun to gain some popularity. It has a luxurious feel -- maybe it's the suggestion of "millions"? -- but this is one of those Spanish baby names that come with Anglicized nicknames that can make it work across cultures.

With the ubiquitous Max heard at every playground across the country, international versions have been gaining traction in an attempt to provide a fresh avenue to the highly sought nickname. This Spanish iteration has been in the US Top 1000 for most of the 21st century. This is one of many Spanish baby names with international power.

Mike Tyson put a twist on his own name by naming a son Miguel. It's the first name of Cervantes, the great Spanish novelist and poet who wrote Don Quixote.

Dashing surname for the Basque kingdom.

The most popular of the number names used by Hispanic parents, open to all. Octavia and Octavio are two Spanish baby names that are moving out into the wider world.

Pablo, the commonly used Spanish version of Paul, has the added bonus of some fantastic artistic bearers: painter Picasso, cellist Casals, and poet Neruda. Pablo has been consistently in the US charts since records began, and has been within the Top 500 since the mid 60s. However, Pablo has never cracked the Top 200, making it familiar but not overused or tired.

The final o in Patricio adds a bit of punch and pizzazz, though it also spins the name closer to the feminine Patricia.

Pedro is one of the most familiar Spanish names for boys, via baseball star Pedro Rodriguez and many others.

Santiago is a spirited Spanish name with great crossover potential. It's a place-name (a city in Chile), a surname, and the name of the patron saint of Spain.