Rio
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Meaning
means 'river' in Spanish and Portuguese; a separate Japanese name uses several possible kanji combinations
Famously borne by footballer Rio Ferdinand.
One Rio, two histories
Spanish · river, from the Spanish and Portuguese word río or rio.
Japanese · from kanji such as 莉, 'white jasmine', or 里, 'village', combined with 央, 'center', 緒, 'thread', or 桜, 'cherry blossom'; other combinations are possible. In this history, the name is usually feminine.
The story
Rio de Janeiro offers a small geographical surprise: the city with river in its name stands along Guanabara Bay. Rio is the Portuguese word for river, written río in Spanish, so the water belongs naturally to one reading of the name. Across in Japanese, however, Rio opens onto a different set of possibilities. Its meaning depends on the characters used to write it. 里, village, can join 桜, cherry blossom; other choices include white jasmine, center and thread. Those are possibilities for particular written forms, rather than a bundle of meanings carried by every Rio. A short spelling can conceal quite different histories. One route gives us a river word beside a great bay; another asks us to look more closely at the writing before we say what the name means.
How popular is Rio around the world?
In the United States, 3,564 babies were named Rio between 2020 and 2025. In Scotland, 48 boys named Rio were registered in 2024, the 110th most common name among boys that year.
Rio is on the official records of the United States, Scotland, England and Wales, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Austria, New Zealand, Canada, Argentina, South Australia, Mexico City, France, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 6,100
In the United States, 3,564 babies were named Rio between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Rio peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Scotland
1 in 950
In Scotland, 48 boys named Rio were registered in 2024, the 110th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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 1,800
In England and Wales, 305 boys named Rio were born in 2025, the 166th 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
Puerto Rico
1 in 2,300
In Puerto Rico, 8 babies were named Rio in 2025, and 15 have carried the name since 1998.
The count never rose above 8 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)
Ireland
1 in 2,800
In Ireland, 19 boys named Rio were born in 2025, the 244th 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
Austria
1 in 3,500
In Austria, 22 boys named Rio were born in 2025, the 265th 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)
New Zealand
1 in 4,400
In New Zealand, 13 boys named Rio were registered in 2025.
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
Canada
1 in 6,300
In Canada, 46 boys named Rio were born in 2024, the 594th most common name among boys that year.
In Canada, 12 girls named Rio were born in 2024, ranked 1,854th among girls 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)
Argentina
1 in 7,700
In Argentina, 86 newborns were given the name Rio 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
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Rio in 2017.
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Rio in 2017.
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
Mexico City City
1 in 24,000
In Mexico City, there were 5 registrations of Rio in 2022.
The count never rose above 6 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
France
1 in 26,000
In France, about 25 boys named Rio were born in 2025, ranked 1,288th 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. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Spain
1 in 49,000
In Spain, 870 residents are named Rio, ranked 1,516th among men, with a mean age of 3.8 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
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 71 people in Brazil were named Rio, ranked 52,382nd, with a median age of 45.
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
Montevideo City
last on record 2008
Rio 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 2 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
Poland
last on record 2024
Rio is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 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)
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations 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 Rio
Most people given the name Rio in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Rio travels
Dual-language · meaning varies by kanji, from "cherry blossom village" to "clear"
Japanese · meaning varies widely by kanji, from 'cherry blossom village' to 'clear'
Keep exploring
Dual-language baby names · Japanese baby names · Short names · Gender-neutral names
The Rio deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Rio 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 Rio fits with your family’s names and surname.
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