Mario
Mario was given to 721 boys in 2025, #438 among boys’ names; 152,403 Americans have been recorded with it since 1897 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 129,000 Americans named Mario and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (84% of everyone recorded); the median is 37 years old and half are between 23 and 50.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Mario by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Mario mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Mario is “a male given name from Italian or Spanish.”
Borrowed from Italian and Spanish Mario, both of which coming from Latin Marius.
/ˈmɑɹioʊ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Mario?
#438 among boys’ names, 2025
Mario fell from #286 in 2015 to #438 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.68 to 0.42 per 1,000.
2,974 babies in 1980, the peak
Mario peaked in 1980, when 2,974 babies were given it (2,936 boys, #102 among boys’ names). The 721 births of 2025 are 24% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 721 | #438 | 0.42 |
| 2024 | 810 | #398 | 0.47 |
| 2023 | 791 | #404 | 0.46 |
| 2022 | 902 | #365 | 0.52 |
| 2021 | 937 | #348 | 0.54 |
| 2020 | 999 | #329 | 0.58 |
| 2019 | 1,030 | #323 | 0.57 |
| 2018 | 1,022 | #328 | 0.56 |
| 2017 | 1,139 | #307 | 0.62 |
| 2016 | 1,156 | #307 | 0.61 |
Every recorded year (127)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,294 | #286 | 0.68 |
| 2014 | 1,368 | #269 | 0.71 |
| 2013 | 1,428 | #255 | 0.75 |
| 2012 | 1,445 | #254 | 0.76 |
| 2011 | 1,598 | #224 | 0.84 |
| 2010 | 1,708 | #208 | 0.89 |
| 2009 | 1,938 | #198 | 1.0 |
| 2008 | 2,167 | #184 | 1.1 |
| 2007 | 2,291 | #180 | 1.1 |
| 2006 | 2,295 | #178 | 1.1 |
| 2005 | 2,304 | #179 | 1.2 |
| 2004 | 2,262 | #178 | 1.1 |
| 2003 | 2,358 | #168 | 1.2 |
| 2002 | 2,265 | #170 | 1.2 |
| 2001 | 2,217 | #170 | 1.1 |
| 2000 | 2,333 | #167 | 1.2 |
| 1999 | 2,288 | #163 | 1.2 |
| 1998 | 2,261 | #151 | 1.2 |
| 1997 | 2,295 | #152 | 1.2 |
| 1996 | 2,377 | #147 | 1.3 |
| 1995 | 2,391 | #149 | 1.3 |
| 1994 | 2,466 | #142 | 1.3 |
| 1993 | 2,470 | #138 | 1.3 |
| 1992 | 2,627 | #128 | 1.3 |
| 1991 | 2,575 | #127 | 1.3 |
| 1990 | 2,823 | #119 | 1.4 |
| 1989 | 2,843 | #116 | 1.4 |
| 1988 | 2,893 | #106 | 1.5 |
| 1987 | 2,738 | #108 | 1.5 |
| 1986 | 2,476 | #112 | 1.3 |
| 1985 | 2,416 | #117 | 1.3 |
| 1984 | 2,348 | #116 | 1.3 |
| 1983 | 2,373 | #115 | 1.3 |
| 1982 | 2,660 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1981 | 2,713 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1980 | 2,936 | #102 | 1.6 |
| 1979 | 2,702 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 1978 | 2,230 | #114 | 1.4 |
| 1977 | 2,121 | #129 | 1.3 |
| 1976 | 2,028 | #130 | 1.3 |
| 1975 | 2,059 | #125 | 1.3 |
| 1974 | 2,062 | #128 | 1.3 |
| 1973 | 2,018 | #129 | 1.3 |
| 1972 | 1,927 | #138 | 1.2 |
| 1971 | 1,904 | #154 | 1.1 |
| 1970 | 1,898 | #159 | 1.0 |
| 1969 | 1,630 | #170 | 0.91 |
| 1968 | 1,357 | #186 | 0.78 |
| 1967 | 1,310 | #187 | 0.75 |
| 1966 | 1,290 | #190 | 0.72 |
| 1965 | 1,289 | #197 | 0.69 |
| 1964 | 1,359 | #204 | 0.68 |
| 1963 | 1,321 | #213 | 0.65 |
| 1962 | 1,312 | #211 | 0.63 |
| 1961 | 1,297 | #216 | 0.61 |
| 1960 | 1,326 | #211 | 0.62 |
| 1959 | 1,205 | #227 | 0.56 |
| 1958 | 1,190 | #219 | 0.56 |
| 1957 | 1,152 | #224 | 0.53 |
| 1956 | 1,208 | #214 | 0.57 |
| 1955 | 1,075 | #219 | 0.52 |
| 1954 | 1,073 | #213 | 0.53 |
| 1953 | 996 | #215 | 0.50 |
| 1952 | 971 | #211 | 0.50 |
| 1951 | 863 | #224 | 0.46 |
| 1950 | 746 | #246 | 0.42 |
| 1949 | 606 | #268 | 0.34 |
| 1948 | 622 | #262 | 0.35 |
| 1947 | 500 | #308 | 0.27 |
| 1946 | 383 | #330 | 0.24 |
| 1945 | 345 | #320 | 0.26 |
| 1944 | 340 | #328 | 0.25 |
| 1943 | 331 | #337 | 0.23 |
| 1942 | 303 | #347 | 0.22 |
| 1941 | 270 | #357 | 0.22 |
| 1940 | 294 | #334 | 0.25 |
| 1939 | 238 | #369 | 0.22 |
| 1938 | 297 | #320 | 0.27 |
| 1937 | 271 | #330 | 0.25 |
| 1936 | 294 | #311 | 0.28 |
| 1935 | 304 | #312 | 0.29 |
| 1934 | 306 | #310 | 0.30 |
| 1933 | 318 | #297 | 0.32 |
| 1932 | 344 | #297 | 0.33 |
| 1931 | 393 | #279 | 0.38 |
| 1930 | 449 | #265 | 0.41 |
| 1929 | 443 | #265 | 0.41 |
| 1928 | 477 | #259 | 0.43 |
| 1927 | 492 | #259 | 0.44 |
| 1926 | 518 | #248 | 0.47 |
| 1925 | 501 | #253 | 0.45 |
| 1924 | 483 | #260 | 0.43 |
| 1923 | 504 | #251 | 0.46 |
| 1922 | 451 | #266 | 0.41 |
| 1921 | 502 | #250 | 0.46 |
| 1920 | 408 | #276 | 0.38 |
| 1919 | 353 | #287 | 0.36 |
| 1918 | 351 | #292 | 0.35 |
| 1917 | 359 | #267 | 0.39 |
| 1916 | 379 | #254 | 0.43 |
| 1915 | 354 | #255 | 0.42 |
| 1914 | 289 | #252 | 0.44 |
| 1913 | 166 | #312 | 0.32 |
| 1912 | 152 | #289 | 0.35 |
| 1911 | 56 | #376 | 0.25 |
| 1910 | 47 | #379 | 0.24 |
| 1909 | 27 | #500 | 0.16 |
| 1908 | 28 | #471 | 0.18 |
| 1907 | 20 | #551 | 0.14 |
| 1906 | 15 | #634 | 0.11 |
| 1905 | 14 | #655 | 0.11 |
| 1904 | 13 | #672 | 0.10 |
| 1903 | 6 | #1,087 | 0.05 |
| 1902 | 10 | #776 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,017 | 0.06 |
| 1900 | 5 | #1,430 | 0.03 |
| 1897 | 7 | #902 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Mario a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Mario has been given almost only to boys: 1,093 girls in 127 years of records.
Girls and boys named Mario: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Mario, and how old are they?
129,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 84% of the 152,403 Americans ever recorded as Mario. The median Mario alive today is 37 years old; half are between 23 and 50.
The 2020 Census counted 213,074 people named Mario (1,382 women and girls, 211,692 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 128,151 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 | 1,090 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 13,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 27,800 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 39,500 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 33,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 13,500 |
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 Mario born?
The states with the most babies named Mario are California, Texas and New York, with 54% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 38,362 | #266 | 2.2× |
| Texas | 29,663 | #237 | 2.4× |
| New York | 12,278 | #789 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 8,424 | #309 | 1.1× |
| Florida | 5,781 | #462 | 0.9× |
| Arizona | 5,012 | #261 | 2.1× |
| New Jersey | 3,967 | #406 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 3,883 | #649 | 0.5× |
| Michigan | 3,861 | #702 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 2,980 | #741 | 0.4× |
Where Mario is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Mario is most over-represented in Texas: 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 Mario 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 7 names spelled alike, given to 160,292 babies since 1880, Mario is the most given (95% of them). In 2025 it was given to 721 of their 840 babies (86%), 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 Mario
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 Mario and names like it
- Compare Mario and MauroBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sMario peaked in 1980.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Mario since 1910.
- Italian namesWiktionary’s origin for Mario: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1980The year the most babies were named Mario.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Mario alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with MMost given first.