Gio
Torn between Gio and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
short for Giovanni and other names beginning Gio in Italian, where Giò is the accented form; also a Georgian short form of Giorgi
The story
Gio can be short for different names. In Italian, the accented form Giò shortens Giovanni and other names beginning Gio, both masculine and feminine. Georgian Gio, written გიო, shortens Giorgi. Those are separate routes to a similar Roman spelling, so the three letters alone do not tell us which name someone is shortening.
The Italian architect and designer Giovanni Ponti was known as Gio Ponti. His work reached from city buildings to the furniture inside them. In Milan he helped design the Pirelli tower with Antonio Fornaroli, Alberto Rosselli and Pier Luigi Nervi. He also founded Domus, a magazine about architecture and design, and directed it, with interruptions, for the rest of his life. For Cassina, he designed the Superleggera, a light wooden chair that weighs 1.7 kilograms.
The formal names behind Gio
Gio is an established short form of this name.
Giovanni · Italian origin · God is gracious
How popular is Gio around the world?
In the United States, Gio is on the Social Security birth record for 2020 to 2025. In Puerto Rico, 10 babies were named Gio in 2025, and 56 have carried the name since 1998.
Gio is on the official records of the United States, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Canada, Scotland, England and Wales, Mexico City and Spain.
United States
on record
In the United States, Gio is on the Social Security birth record for 2020 to 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Gio peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,800
In Puerto Rico, 10 babies were named Gio in 2025, and 56 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)
Argentina
1 in 3,400
In Argentina, 193 newborns were given the name Gio 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
Canada
1 in 11,000
In Canada, 33 boys named Gio were born in 2024, the 794th 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)
Scotland
1 in 15,000
In Scotland, 3 boys named Gio were registered in 2024, the 727th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 5 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
England and Wales
1 in 42,000
In England and Wales, 14 boys named Gio were born in 2025, ranked 1,798th 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
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Gio in 2022.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
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, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 230,000
In Spain, 198 residents are named Gio, ranked 4,689th among men, with a mean age of 4.7 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
Ireland
last on record 2024
Gio is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 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
Montevideo City
last on record 2000
Gio is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in New Zealand: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years.
The Gio deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Gio 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 Gio fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Gio fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Gio to your family’s tree →