Federico
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Meaning
peaceful ruler; famously borne by Federico García Lorca, Spanish poet and playwright
Goes by Fede, Rico. See all nicknames
Famously borne by Uruguay's Federico Valverde.
The story
Federico is the Italian and Spanish form of Frederick, an old Germanic name meaning peaceful ruler, carried by emperors and kings before it softened into the melodic four syllables of the Romance languages. Its greatest modern bearer is Federico García Lorca, the Spanish poet and playwright whose Gypsy Ballads and Blood Wedding made him the most celebrated Spanish writer of his generation before he was killed in 1936, in the first weeks of the Spanish Civil War. Film lovers may think instead of Federico Fellini, the Italian director. In American records the name tells a quieter story: a steady, modest presence for a full century, kept alive in Italian American and Latino families, with a gentle rise since the 1990s. Federico today reads as warm, unhurried, and unmistakably literary.
Federico across languages
One shared root links 6 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from Germanic frid "peace" + ric "ruler", a German royal staple the English re-imported with the Hanoverians
The constellation
More branches
How popular is Federico around the world?
In the United States, 437 babies were named Federico between 2020 and 2025. In Montevideo, 123 boys named Federico were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
Federico is on the official records of the United States, Montevideo, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, Austria, England and Wales, Poland, Canada and Brazil.
United States
1 in 50,000
In the United States, 437 babies were named Federico between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Federico peaked in the 1990s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Federico has stayed between 437 and 1,191 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Montevideo City
1 in 2002011
In Montevideo, 123 boys named Federico 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
Argentina
1 in 1,100
In Argentina, 597 newborns were given the name Federico 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
Chile
1 in 1,700
In Chile, 103 boys were registered as Federico 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 2,600
In Spain, 17,349 residents are named Federico, the 173rd most common name among men, with a mean age of 54.6 years.
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 3,600
In Puerto Rico, 5 babies were named Federico in 2025, and 47 have carried the name since 1998.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Mexico City City
1 in 6,900
In Mexico City, there were 17 registrations of Federico 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 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Austria
1 in 19,000
In Austria, 4 boys named Federico were born in 2025, the 827th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
England and Wales
1 in 27,000
In England and Wales, 22 boys named Federico were born in 2025, ranked 1,276th 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
Poland
1 in 49,000
In Poland, 5 boys named Federico were born in 2025, the 445th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Canada
1 in 61,000
In Canada, 6 boys named Federico were born in 2024, ranked 2,855th among boys that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Brazil
1 in 170,000
At the 2022 census, 1,144 people in Brazil were named Federico, ranked 7,558th, with a median age of 38.
Among people named Federico living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 42 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
Ireland
last on record 2022
Federico is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Scotland
last on record 2013
Federico is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 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
South Australia
last on record 2007
Federico is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 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
Not on the record in New Zealand: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Federico
People given the name Federico in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1960 to 2009. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Federico · Names of poets and writers · Names of soccer legends · Familiar but never popular
The Federico deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Federico 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 Federico fits with your family’s names and surname.
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