Name Awesome

Rio

#532 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Rio has been given to 7,812 babies in the U.S. since 1920. In 2025 it ranked #532 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2024, with 593 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 71% boys, 29% girls all-time.

Babies named Rio, 2025

1 in 5,890

Rio over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020040060018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Rio over time

In 2025, Rio went to 16% girls and 84% boys.

19202025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Rio: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Javanese

What Rio means

Rio has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

The naming story behind Rio

One of the source’s documented entries for Rio records a meaning of river.

Rio is documented with more than one possible Japanese character combination. The Latin-letter spelling records a pronunciation; it does not specify one unique kanji spelling or one universal meaning.

Possible character meanings include white jasmine, village, center, thread.

Origin, language, and formation

Rio is used in English and Indonesian. Its origins include Javanese.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Rio is pronounced /ˈɹioʊ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,530 boys were recorded with the name Rio between 1920 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 593 in 2024; its best national rank was #517 in 2024.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #774 in 2020 to #532 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,577 in 2015 to #532 in 2025.

In the United States, 2,282 girls were recorded with the name Rio between 1930 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 124 in 2021; its best national rank was #1,679 in 2021.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #2,047 in 2020 to #1,877 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #3,973 in 2015 to #1,877 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Rio?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 5,890
563 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 3,030
0.03% of boys
Rank, 2025
#532
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
4,083 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Rio sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 1002%
School of 5008%

Put another way: gather 4,083 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Rio. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Rios were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Rio was born before 2020 — so the typical Rio is around 5 today.

Median birth year
2020
About 5 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
52.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
85.5%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
5,515
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 52.6% of all recorded uses (2,908).

Is Rio rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−15
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+242
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+1,045
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
5.47×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
94.9%
Peak was 2024 (593)
Years since peak
1
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
16.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#517
2024

Where Rio is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Rio was most concentrated in New Mexico — about 1 in 2,273 boys, against 1 in 4,723 across all states with data. It was least common in Oklahoma (1 in 33,333).

344 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New Mexico1 in 2,273
  2. 2California1 in 2,381
  3. 3Colorado1 in 2,564
  4. 4Oregon1 in 2,564
  5. 5Washington1 in 3,030
  6. 6Arizona1 in 3,333
  7. 7Florida1 in 3,571
  8. 8New York1 in 3,704

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Geographically, Rio is somewhat regional — more concentrated than 64% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Where Rio is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Rio was most concentrated in Utah — about 1 in 4,545 girls, against 1 in 15,158 across all states with data. It was least common in New Jersey (1 in 100,000).

122 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Utah1 in 4,545
  2. 2California1 in 7,143
  3. 3Arizona1 in 14,286
  4. 4New York1 in 14,286
  5. 5Washington1 in 16,667
  6. 6Texas1 in 20,000
  7. 7Florida1 in 25,000
  8. 8Oregon1 in 25,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Rio around the world

Where Rio ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #166
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2001–2025
    #137
    in 2025
  • Northern Ireland
    2003–2025
    #126
    in 2025
  • Ireland
    2002–2025
    #244
    in 2025
  • France
    1983–2025
    #1,288
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #594
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1961–2013
    #754
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Rio

People whose public names include Rio, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Rio by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#532
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 242
Best rank ever
#517
2024
Peak year
2024
593 that year
First recorded
1920
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,530
Count in 2025
563

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#1,877
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 170
Best rank ever
#1,679
2021
Peak year
2021
124 that year
First recorded
1930
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,282
Count in 2025
105

Names similar to Rio

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

RionRiotDarioRosarioDemarioHilarioArioMacarioRiottSaverioPorfirioJamarioDemetrioDamarioGregorioRomarioRiordanNazarioMarioSilverioVittorioValerioIlarioCario

Names with a curve like Rio

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Rio, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

RomeEmirSalemOceanTadeoAzrielOzzyAnderLedgerKodaSuttonKenzo

Sibling names for Rio

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Rio

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