Jairo
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Meaning
“Spanish form of Jair, meaning he shines”
The story
Jairo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Jairus, the synagogue leader in the Gospel of Mark whose daughter Jesus raised with the Aramaic words talitha koum, little girl, get up; behind the Greek stands the Hebrew Jair, he shines. Latin America gave the name its modern voice: the Argentine singer Jairo has performed more than 500 songs in Spanish, French and Italian, and Jairo Varela of Quibdó founded Grupo Niche, one of the great salsa orchestras of Colombia. The American record shows a late, fast arrival: 181 boys in the 1970s, 1,134 in the 1980s, 3,777 in the 2000s. Brazil's census counted 69,851, with a median age of 45. A name that means shining, remembered forever for the morning a girl woke up.
How popular is Jairo around the world?
In the United States, 1,427 babies were named Jairo between 2020 and 2025. In Montevideo, 21 boys named Jairo were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
Jairo is on the official records of the United States, Montevideo, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Chile and Mexico City.
United States
1 in 15,000
In the United States, 1,427 babies were named Jairo between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jairo peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Montevideo City
1 in 1,2002011
In Montevideo, 21 boys named Jairo 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 2,400
In Argentina, 273 newborns were given the name Jairo 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
Brazil
1 in 2,900
At the 2022 census, 69,851 people in Brazil were named Jairo, the 432nd most common name, with a median age of 45.
Among people named Jairo living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1970s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 435 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
Spain
1 in 3,800
In Spain, 11,741 residents are named Jairo, the 234th most common name among men, with a mean age of 26.5 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
Chile
1 in 5,900
In Chile, 30 boys were registered as Jairo 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
Mexico City City
1 in 20,000
In Mexico City, there were 6 registrations of Jairo 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, 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
Canada
last on record 2023
Jairo is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
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)
England and Wales
last on record 2022
Jairo is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Puerto Rico
last on record 2014
Jairo is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 189 babies have carried the name there 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)
South Australia
last on record 2002
Jairo is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 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 Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). 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 Jairo
Most people given the name Jairo 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.
The Jairo deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jairo 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 Jairo fits with your family’s names and surname.
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