Fernando
Fernando was given to 819 boys in 2025, #387 among boys’ names; 103,729 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 93,400 Americans named Fernando and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (90% of everyone recorded); the median is 28 years old and half are between 18 and 42.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Fernando by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Fernando mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Fernando is “a male given name from Spanish; diminutive forms Fer, Nando.”
From Spanish Fernando, a contraction of Ferdinando, equivalent to English Ferdinand. From Proto-Germanic *fardiz (“journey”) or *friþuz (“peace”) + *nanþaz (“daring”) (from the root of *ninþaną (“to be daring”)).
/fɝˈnændoʊ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Fernando?
#387 among boys’ names, 2025
Fernando fell from #272 in 2015 to #387 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.70 to 0.48 per 1,000.
2,765 babies in 2006, the peak
Fernando peaked in 2006, when 2,765 babies were given it (2,758 boys, #151 among boys’ names). The 819 births of 2025 are 30% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 819 | #387 | 0.48 |
| 2024 | 952 | #352 | 0.55 |
| 2023 | 970 | #344 | 0.57 |
| 2022 | 976 | #342 | 0.56 |
| 2021 | 906 | #358 | 0.52 |
| 2020 | 938 | #342 | 0.54 |
| 2019 | 1,065 | #316 | 0.59 |
| 2018 | 1,093 | #311 | 0.60 |
| 2017 | 1,142 | #306 | 0.62 |
| 2016 | 1,245 | #289 | 0.66 |
Every recorded year (139)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,348 | #272 | 0.70 |
| 2014 | 1,404 | #264 | 0.73 |
| 2013 | 1,429 | #254 | 0.76 |
| 2012 | 1,482 | #243 | 0.78 |
| 2011 | 1,706 | #209 | 0.90 |
| 2010 | 1,953 | #189 | 1.0 |
| 2009 | 2,126 | #179 | 1.1 |
| 2008 | 2,383 | #164 | 1.2 |
| 2007 | 2,687 | #157 | 1.3 |
| 2006 | 2,758 | #151 | 1.3 |
| 2005 | 2,440 | #170 | 1.2 |
| 2004 | 2,578 | #155 | 1.3 |
| 2003 | 2,554 | #157 | 1.3 |
| 2002 | 2,423 | #159 | 1.2 |
| 2001 | 2,601 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 2000 | 2,602 | #150 | 1.3 |
| 1999 | 2,175 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1998 | 2,057 | #166 | 1.1 |
| 1997 | 2,315 | #149 | 1.2 |
| 1996 | 1,875 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1995 | 1,872 | #176 | 1.0 |
| 1994 | 1,831 | #174 | 0.95 |
| 1993 | 1,799 | #179 | 0.92 |
| 1992 | 1,880 | #169 | 0.94 |
| 1991 | 1,898 | #169 | 0.94 |
| 1990 | 1,731 | #179 | 0.84 |
| 1989 | 1,582 | #187 | 0.79 |
| 1988 | 1,361 | #200 | 0.71 |
| 1987 | 1,202 | #208 | 0.64 |
| 1986 | 1,323 | #193 | 0.72 |
| 1985 | 1,292 | #193 | 0.70 |
| 1984 | 1,284 | #191 | 0.71 |
| 1983 | 1,280 | #190 | 0.71 |
| 1982 | 1,367 | #185 | 0.75 |
| 1981 | 1,241 | #199 | 0.69 |
| 1980 | 1,266 | #196 | 0.71 |
| 1979 | 1,131 | #210 | 0.66 |
| 1978 | 1,081 | #204 | 0.66 |
| 1977 | 1,136 | #201 | 0.69 |
| 1976 | 886 | #230 | 0.56 |
| 1975 | 914 | #223 | 0.59 |
| 1974 | 841 | #240 | 0.53 |
| 1973 | 809 | #245 | 0.52 |
| 1972 | 782 | #255 | 0.48 |
| 1971 | 828 | #264 | 0.47 |
| 1970 | 764 | #276 | 0.41 |
| 1969 | 680 | #287 | 0.38 |
| 1968 | 648 | #293 | 0.37 |
| 1967 | 588 | #304 | 0.34 |
| 1966 | 603 | #303 | 0.34 |
| 1965 | 549 | #324 | 0.30 |
| 1964 | 620 | #310 | 0.31 |
| 1963 | 597 | #322 | 0.29 |
| 1962 | 634 | #309 | 0.31 |
| 1961 | 610 | #317 | 0.29 |
| 1960 | 584 | #323 | 0.27 |
| 1959 | 610 | #316 | 0.29 |
| 1958 | 528 | #335 | 0.25 |
| 1957 | 530 | #332 | 0.25 |
| 1956 | 517 | #325 | 0.24 |
| 1955 | 532 | #320 | 0.26 |
| 1954 | 572 | #299 | 0.28 |
| 1953 | 530 | #312 | 0.27 |
| 1952 | 424 | #335 | 0.22 |
| 1951 | 406 | #337 | 0.22 |
| 1950 | 344 | #363 | 0.19 |
| 1949 | 268 | #411 | 0.15 |
| 1948 | 312 | #387 | 0.18 |
| 1947 | 264 | #420 | 0.14 |
| 1946 | 219 | #430 | 0.13 |
| 1945 | 220 | #407 | 0.16 |
| 1944 | 180 | #450 | 0.13 |
| 1943 | 164 | #481 | 0.11 |
| 1942 | 183 | #455 | 0.13 |
| 1941 | 133 | #511 | 0.11 |
| 1940 | 164 | #453 | 0.14 |
| 1939 | 131 | #497 | 0.12 |
| 1938 | 141 | #489 | 0.13 |
| 1937 | 150 | #456 | 0.14 |
| 1936 | 121 | #512 | 0.12 |
| 1935 | 128 | #508 | 0.12 |
| 1934 | 132 | #502 | 0.13 |
| 1933 | 132 | #488 | 0.13 |
| 1932 | 132 | #500 | 0.13 |
| 1931 | 177 | #426 | 0.17 |
| 1930 | 173 | #449 | 0.16 |
| 1929 | 148 | #482 | 0.14 |
| 1928 | 146 | #499 | 0.13 |
| 1927 | 189 | #445 | 0.17 |
| 1926 | 136 | #519 | 0.12 |
| 1925 | 162 | #478 | 0.15 |
| 1924 | 153 | #504 | 0.14 |
| 1923 | 136 | #521 | 0.12 |
| 1922 | 119 | #589 | 0.11 |
| 1921 | 130 | #546 | 0.12 |
| 1920 | 96 | #647 | 0.09 |
| 1919 | 83 | #683 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 84 | #680 | 0.08 |
| 1917 | 80 | #670 | 0.09 |
| 1916 | 58 | #814 | 0.07 |
| 1915 | 56 | #817 | 0.07 |
| 1914 | 54 | #706 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 30 | #904 | 0.06 |
| 1912 | 34 | #742 | 0.08 |
| 1911 | 18 | #767 | 0.08 |
| 1910 | 23 | #605 | 0.12 |
| 1909 | 16 | #694 | 0.10 |
| 1908 | 12 | #794 | 0.08 |
| 1907 | 6 | #1,244 | 0.04 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,168 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 16 | #573 | 0.12 |
| 1903 | 6 | #1,056 | 0.05 |
| 1902 | 11 | #705 | 0.09 |
| 1901 | 6 | #987 | 0.06 |
| 1900 | 12 | #757 | 0.08 |
| 1899 | 8 | #810 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 5 | #1,190 | 0.04 |
| 1897 | 8 | #812 | 0.07 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,028 | 0.05 |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,138 | 0.04 |
| 1894 | 8 | #810 | 0.07 |
| 1892 | 7 | #885 | 0.06 |
| 1888 | 5 | #1,083 | 0.04 |
| 1886 | 9 | #660 | 0.08 |
| 1885 | 9 | #662 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 10 | #632 | 0.09 |
| 1883 | 6 | #829 | 0.06 |
| 1882 | 6 | #872 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 8 | #703 | 0.07 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Fernando a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Fernando has been given almost only to boys: 590 girls in 139 years of records.
Girls and boys named Fernando: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Fernando, and how old are they?
93,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 90% of the 103,729 Americans ever recorded as Fernando. The median Fernando alive today is 28 years old; half are between 18 and 42.
The 2020 Census counted 151,654 people named Fernando (531 women and girls, 151,123 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 90,301 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.7 times 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 | 564 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 6,270 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 12,100 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 23,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 36,400 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 14,200 |
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 Fernando born?
The states with the most babies named Fernando are California, Texas and Florida, with 55% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 197 | #191 | 2.8× |
| Texas | 194 | #203 | 2.7× |
| Florida | 48 | #406 | 0.8× |
| Arizona | 42 | #200 | 2.7× |
| New York | 29 | #549 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 24 | #449 | 1.0× |
| Washington | 21 | #354 | 0.6× |
| New Jersey | 18 | #433 | 0.6× |
| Georgia | 17 | #602 | 0.5× |
| North Carolina | 16 | #600 | 0.4× |
Where Fernando is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Fernando is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 2.8 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 Fernando 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 103,874 babies since 1880, Fernando is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 819 of their 819 babies (100%), 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 Fernando
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 Fernando and names like it
- Compare Fernando and FernadoBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sFernando peaked in 2006.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Fernando since 1910.
- Spanish namesWiktionary’s origin for Fernando: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2006The year the most babies were named Fernando.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Fernando alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with FMost given first.