Diego
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Meaning
a Spanish name of uncertain origin, possibly a short form of Santiago; recorded in medieval Latin as Didacus
Famously borne by Diego Maradona.
The story
Diego has a documented medieval life even though its linguistic beginning remains unsettled. It may be a shortened Santiago; medieval records rendered it in Latin as Didacus, which is a clue to how the name was written, not a settled translation. Diego of Alcalá, a Spanish Franciscan saint of the fifteenth century, gives that older history a particular bearer. Centuries later, Diego Rivera placed another bearer, himself, inside a sweep of Mexican history. His mural Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central gathers figures from different periods into an imagined afternoon. At its center, the skeletal La Catrina holds a child Diego's hand and links arms with José Guadalupe Posada. The painter becomes a small figure in his own historical panorama. Between the saint and the painted child, Diego has clear human associations even where its ultimate etymology stays open.
How popular is Diego around the world?
In the United States, 16,425 babies were named Diego between 2020 and 2025. In Montevideo, 159 boys named Diego were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
Diego is on the official records of the United States, Montevideo, Mexico City, Chile, Spain, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, France, Austria, Scotland, Ireland, South Australia, England and Wales, Canada and Poland.
Diego crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record, of a Spanish-speaking one and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full lists: English and Spanish · English and Portuguese · Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 1,300
In the United States, 16,425 babies were named Diego between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Diego peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Montevideo City
1 in 1502011
In Montevideo, 159 boys named Diego were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Mexico City City
1 in 180
In Mexico City, there were 658 registrations of Diego in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (30 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 200
In Chile, 878 boys were registered as Diego in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Spain
1 in 280
In Spain, 157,540 residents are named Diego, the 31st most common name among men, with a mean age of 34.5 years.
In Spain, Diego was the 20th most common name among boys born in 2024.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Puerto Rico
1 in 400
In Puerto Rico, 45 babies were named Diego in 2025, and 6,714 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Brazil
1 in 500
At the 2022 census, 403,169 people in Brazil were named Diego, the 68th most common name, with a median age of 30.
Among people named Diego living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 7,278 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Argentina
1 in 1,300
In Argentina, 517 newborns were given the name Diego in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
France
1 in 1,400
In France, about 460 boys named Diego were born in 2025, the 134th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Diego, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
1 in 3,800
In Austria, 20 boys named Diego were born in 2025, the 284th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Scotland
1 in 5,100
In Scotland, 9 boys named Diego were registered in 2024, the 382nd most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Ireland
1 in 5,400
In Ireland, 10 boys named Diego were born in 2025, the 372nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 boys were registered as Diego in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 6,700
In England and Wales, 87 boys named Diego were born in 2025, the 444th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 7,000
In Canada, 52 boys named Diego were born in 2024, the 536th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Poland
1 in 21,000
In Poland, 12 boys named Diego were born in 2025, the 314th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
New Zealand
last on record 2009
Diego is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Norway
last on record 2023
Diego is not on the 2025 record for Norway, where names carried by fewer than 4 people in a year are withheld at source.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
When you meet Diego
Most people given the name Diego in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Diego · Names that go with Diego · Global crossover names · Spanish baby names · Filipino baby names · Mexican American baby names
The Diego deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Diego truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Diego fits with your family’s names and surname.
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