Diego
Diego was given to 2,351 boys in 2025, #158 among boys’ names; 126,405 Americans have been recorded with it since 1887 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 124,000 Americans named Diego and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (98% of everyone recorded); the median is 19 years old and half are between 11 and 23.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Diego by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Diego mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Diego is “a male given name from Spanish Diego.”
Borrowed from Spanish Diego, from an Iberian Didacus, of uncertain origin.
/diˈeɪ.ɡoʊ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Diego?
#158 among boys’ names, 2025
Diego fell from #125 in 2015 to #158 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 1.7 to 1.4 per 1,000.
8,423 babies in 2006, the peak
Diego peaked in 2006, when 8,423 babies were given it (8,403 boys, #56 among boys’ names). The 2,356 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 28% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,351 | #158 | 1.4 |
| 2024 | 2,511 | #145 | 1.5 |
| 2023 | 2,747 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 2022 | 2,970 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 2021 | 2,925 | #126 | 1.7 |
| 2020 | 2,910 | #126 | 1.7 |
| 2019 | 2,990 | #129 | 1.7 |
| 2018 | 2,884 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 2017 | 3,102 | #129 | 1.7 |
| 2016 | 3,201 | #130 | 1.7 |
Every recorded year (118)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3,237 | #125 | 1.7 |
| 2014 | 3,171 | #129 | 1.7 |
| 2013 | 2,921 | #130 | 1.5 |
| 2012 | 3,337 | #110 | 1.8 |
| 2011 | 3,824 | #99 | 2.0 |
| 2010 | 4,719 | #86 | 2.5 |
| 2009 | 5,414 | #76 | 2.7 |
| 2008 | 6,572 | #69 | 3.2 |
| 2007 | 8,216 | #58 | 4.0 |
| 2006 | 8,403 | #56 | 4.1 |
| 2005 | 6,942 | #62 | 3.5 |
| 2004 | 5,876 | #73 | 3.0 |
| 2003 | 5,121 | #83 | 2.6 |
| 2002 | 3,979 | #98 | 2.0 |
| 2001 | 2,833 | #139 | 1.5 |
| 2000 | 2,685 | #147 | 1.4 |
| 1999 | 2,416 | #149 | 1.3 |
| 1998 | 1,807 | #187 | 0.95 |
| 1997 | 1,785 | #186 | 0.95 |
| 1996 | 1,380 | #218 | 0.73 |
| 1995 | 1,298 | #228 | 0.68 |
| 1994 | 1,260 | #237 | 0.65 |
| 1993 | 914 | #299 | 0.47 |
| 1992 | 890 | #301 | 0.45 |
| 1991 | 879 | #295 | 0.44 |
| 1990 | 830 | #307 | 0.40 |
| 1989 | 759 | #316 | 0.38 |
| 1988 | 596 | #348 | 0.31 |
| 1987 | 525 | #368 | 0.28 |
| 1986 | 421 | #417 | 0.23 |
| 1985 | 343 | #467 | 0.19 |
| 1984 | 317 | #473 | 0.18 |
| 1983 | 275 | #509 | 0.15 |
| 1982 | 262 | #527 | 0.14 |
| 1981 | 211 | #587 | 0.12 |
| 1980 | 193 | #629 | 0.11 |
| 1979 | 144 | #722 | 0.08 |
| 1978 | 136 | #721 | 0.08 |
| 1977 | 152 | #687 | 0.09 |
| 1976 | 119 | #760 | 0.08 |
| 1975 | 145 | #685 | 0.09 |
| 1974 | 133 | #712 | 0.08 |
| 1973 | 108 | #768 | 0.07 |
| 1972 | 103 | #790 | 0.06 |
| 1971 | 101 | #799 | 0.06 |
| 1970 | 103 | #802 | 0.06 |
| 1969 | 82 | #848 | 0.05 |
| 1968 | 57 | #975 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 67 | #877 | 0.04 |
| 1966 | 79 | #823 | 0.04 |
| 1965 | 67 | #902 | 0.04 |
| 1964 | 65 | #948 | 0.03 |
| 1963 | 59 | #989 | 0.03 |
| 1962 | 54 | #1,037 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 58 | #1,028 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 45 | #1,167 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 52 | #1,071 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 62 | #963 | 0.03 |
| 1957 | 42 | #1,202 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 27 | #1,513 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 33 | #1,317 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 33 | #1,317 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 30 | #1,383 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 19 | #1,761 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 21 | #1,653 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 31 | #1,296 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 31 | #1,304 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 20 | #1,667 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 29 | #1,371 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 19 | #1,653 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 15 | #1,799 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 22 | #1,448 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 22 | #1,498 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 29 | #1,300 | 0.02 |
| 1941 | 23 | #1,423 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 14 | #1,920 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 14 | #1,898 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 20 | #1,533 | 0.02 |
| 1937 | 19 | #1,592 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 16 | #1,744 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 24 | #1,397 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 20 | #1,570 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 24 | #1,370 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 19 | #1,664 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 17 | #1,786 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 15 | #1,991 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 27 | #1,391 | 0.03 |
| 1928 | 21 | #1,659 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 20 | #1,756 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 25 | #1,482 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 14 | #2,218 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 29 | #1,388 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 17 | #1,962 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 13 | #2,372 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 17 | #1,998 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 14 | #2,247 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 20 | #1,709 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 13 | #2,287 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 9 | #2,784 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 18 | #1,715 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 10 | #2,489 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 9 | #2,316 | 0.01 |
| 1913 | 9 | #1,980 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 9 | #1,776 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 7 | #1,420 | 0.03 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,228 | 0.04 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,164 | 0.04 |
| 1887 | 5 | #965 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Diego a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Diego has been given almost only to boys: 245 girls in 118 years of records.
Girls and boys named Diego: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Diego, and how old are they?
124,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 98% of the 126,405 Americans ever recorded as Diego. The median Diego alive today is 19 years old; half are between 11 and 23.
The 2020 Census counted 129,961 people named Diego (279 women and girls, 129,682 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 108,626 born in the U.S. The Census count is 20% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 70 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 506 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,600 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 10,700 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 73,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 37,700 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Diego born?
The states with the most babies named Diego are California, Texas and Florida, with 50% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 499 | #74 | 2.4× |
| Texas | 476 | #83 | 2.1× |
| Florida | 186 | #115 | 0.9× |
| Arizona | 100 | #76 | 1.7× |
| Illinois | 88 | #132 | 1.2× |
| New York | 67 | #277 | 0.6× |
| Georgia | 66 | #187 | 0.6× |
| New Jersey | 57 | #178 | 0.6× |
| North Carolina | 56 | #225 | 0.6× |
| Virginia | 56 | #159 | 0.6× |
Where Diego is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Diego is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 2.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Diego with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 127,275 babies since 1880, Diego is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 2,356 of their 2,393 babies (98%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Diego
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Diego and names like it
- Compare Diego and DiogoBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sDiego peaked in 2006.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Diego since 1910.
- Spanish namesWiktionary’s origin for Diego: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2006The year the most babies were named Diego.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Diego alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with DMost given first.