Santiago
Santiago was given to 7,554 boys in 2025, #26 among boys’ names; 103,965 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 98,700 Americans named Santiago and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (95% of everyone recorded); the median is 9 years old and half are between 4 and 17.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Santiago by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Santiago mean?
Wiktionary, Spanish section
Santiago is “a male given name, equivalent to English James” Its etymology gives the senses “Saint James” (Iācōbus) and “May He Heel” (literally) and “to heel” (verb).
Inherited from Latin Sānctus Iācōbus (“Saint James”), the latter word deriving from Ancient Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Biblical Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (yaʿăqōḇ, literally “May He Heel”), from the third-person singular masculine imperfective form of the Semitic verb “to heel” (with various meanings), in turn from עָקֵב (ʿāqēḇ, “heel of the foot”), historically mediated by the folk etymology found in Biblical account of the patriarch Jacob’s birth in Genesis 25:26.
/sanˈtjaɡo/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Spanish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Santiago?
#26 among boys’ names, 2025
Santiago rose from #127 in 2015 to #26 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 1.7 to 4.4 per 1,000.
7,560 babies in 2025, the peak
Santiago peaked in 2025, when 7,560 babies were given it (7,554 boys, #26 among boys’ names). In 2024 it went to 7,434 boys.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7,554 | #26 | 4.4 |
| 2024 | 7,434 | #29 | 4.3 |
| 2023 | 6,358 | #45 | 3.7 |
| 2022 | 6,036 | #49 | 3.5 |
| 2021 | 5,076 | #63 | 2.9 |
| 2020 | 4,687 | #71 | 2.7 |
| 2019 | 5,047 | #70 | 2.8 |
| 2018 | 4,670 | #82 | 2.6 |
| 2017 | 4,204 | #93 | 2.3 |
| 2016 | 3,719 | #106 | 2.0 |
Every recorded year (141)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3,219 | #127 | 1.7 |
| 2014 | 3,426 | #117 | 1.8 |
| 2013 | 3,032 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 2012 | 3,050 | #122 | 1.6 |
| 2011 | 3,070 | #131 | 1.6 |
| 2010 | 3,012 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 2009 | 3,126 | #130 | 1.6 |
| 2008 | 2,340 | #171 | 1.1 |
| 2007 | 1,968 | #200 | 0.95 |
| 2006 | 1,552 | #232 | 0.76 |
| 2005 | 1,205 | #278 | 0.60 |
| 2004 | 1,089 | #292 | 0.55 |
| 2003 | 928 | #319 | 0.47 |
| 2002 | 863 | #322 | 0.44 |
| 2001 | 803 | #342 | 0.41 |
| 2000 | 739 | #359 | 0.38 |
| 1999 | 600 | #404 | 0.31 |
| 1998 | 509 | #446 | 0.27 |
| 1997 | 498 | #448 | 0.26 |
| 1996 | 407 | #508 | 0.21 |
| 1995 | 427 | #498 | 0.22 |
| 1994 | 391 | #510 | 0.20 |
| 1993 | 377 | #528 | 0.19 |
| 1992 | 386 | #517 | 0.19 |
| 1991 | 364 | #529 | 0.18 |
| 1990 | 324 | #564 | 0.16 |
| 1989 | 323 | #538 | 0.16 |
| 1988 | 245 | #600 | 0.13 |
| 1987 | 257 | #564 | 0.14 |
| 1986 | 224 | #594 | 0.12 |
| 1985 | 266 | #535 | 0.14 |
| 1984 | 270 | #519 | 0.15 |
| 1983 | 237 | #547 | 0.13 |
| 1982 | 272 | #515 | 0.15 |
| 1981 | 281 | #502 | 0.16 |
| 1980 | 252 | #538 | 0.14 |
| 1979 | 241 | #553 | 0.14 |
| 1978 | 215 | #572 | 0.13 |
| 1977 | 236 | #541 | 0.14 |
| 1976 | 228 | #534 | 0.15 |
| 1975 | 206 | #563 | 0.13 |
| 1974 | 207 | #558 | 0.13 |
| 1973 | 188 | #579 | 0.12 |
| 1972 | 178 | #600 | 0.11 |
| 1971 | 193 | #597 | 0.11 |
| 1970 | 191 | #587 | 0.10 |
| 1969 | 160 | #622 | 0.09 |
| 1968 | 153 | #616 | 0.09 |
| 1967 | 145 | #626 | 0.08 |
| 1966 | 137 | #633 | 0.08 |
| 1965 | 147 | #627 | 0.08 |
| 1964 | 148 | #642 | 0.07 |
| 1963 | 148 | #649 | 0.07 |
| 1962 | 120 | #704 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 148 | #646 | 0.07 |
| 1960 | 158 | #619 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 129 | #672 | 0.06 |
| 1958 | 151 | #626 | 0.07 |
| 1957 | 124 | #687 | 0.06 |
| 1956 | 152 | #617 | 0.07 |
| 1955 | 115 | #688 | 0.06 |
| 1954 | 125 | #652 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 122 | #646 | 0.06 |
| 1952 | 134 | #613 | 0.07 |
| 1951 | 146 | #570 | 0.08 |
| 1950 | 132 | #592 | 0.07 |
| 1949 | 133 | #588 | 0.07 |
| 1948 | 127 | #600 | 0.07 |
| 1947 | 108 | #666 | 0.06 |
| 1946 | 132 | #555 | 0.08 |
| 1945 | 132 | #523 | 0.10 |
| 1944 | 109 | #591 | 0.08 |
| 1943 | 100 | #641 | 0.07 |
| 1942 | 109 | #605 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 91 | #642 | 0.07 |
| 1940 | 70 | #737 | 0.06 |
| 1939 | 84 | #651 | 0.08 |
| 1938 | 96 | #608 | 0.09 |
| 1937 | 82 | #659 | 0.08 |
| 1936 | 93 | #606 | 0.09 |
| 1935 | 86 | #638 | 0.08 |
| 1934 | 94 | #614 | 0.09 |
| 1933 | 90 | #613 | 0.09 |
| 1932 | 90 | #631 | 0.09 |
| 1931 | 103 | #580 | 0.10 |
| 1930 | 117 | #557 | 0.11 |
| 1929 | 114 | #555 | 0.11 |
| 1928 | 141 | #510 | 0.13 |
| 1927 | 114 | #582 | 0.10 |
| 1926 | 86 | #688 | 0.08 |
| 1925 | 104 | #616 | 0.09 |
| 1924 | 121 | #581 | 0.11 |
| 1923 | 105 | #624 | 0.10 |
| 1922 | 91 | #684 | 0.08 |
| 1921 | 94 | #671 | 0.09 |
| 1920 | 80 | #731 | 0.08 |
| 1919 | 82 | #689 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 59 | #868 | 0.06 |
| 1917 | 49 | #917 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 53 | #874 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 61 | #772 | 0.07 |
| 1914 | 53 | #722 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 43 | #705 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 32 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1911 | 16 | #853 | 0.07 |
| 1910 | 28 | #545 | 0.14 |
| 1909 | 22 | #571 | 0.13 |
| 1908 | 14 | #741 | 0.09 |
| 1907 | 9 | #991 | 0.06 |
| 1906 | 10 | #845 | 0.08 |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,212 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 17 | #560 | 0.13 |
| 1903 | 12 | #691 | 0.10 |
| 1902 | 9 | #851 | 0.07 |
| 1901 | 12 | #632 | 0.11 |
| 1900 | 12 | #778 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 11 | #696 | 0.09 |
| 1895 | 13 | #603 | 0.11 |
| 1894 | 6 | #1,061 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 8 | #822 | 0.07 |
| 1892 | 8 | #852 | 0.07 |
| 1891 | 7 | #830 | 0.07 |
| 1890 | 9 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1888 | 8 | #808 | 0.07 |
| 1887 | 15 | #454 | 0.15 |
| 1886 | 5 | #1,083 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 12 | #573 | 0.11 |
| 1884 | 8 | #747 | 0.07 |
| 1883 | 7 | #789 | 0.07 |
| 1881 | 10 | #585 | 0.10 |
| 1880 | 12 | #558 | 0.11 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Santiago a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Santiago has been given almost only to boys: 137 girls in 141 years of records.
Girls and boys named Santiago: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Santiago, and how old are they?
98,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 95% of the 103,965 Americans ever recorded as Santiago. The median Santiago alive today is 9 years old; half are between 4 and 17.
The 2020 Census counted 80,841 people named Santiago (294 women and girls, 80,547 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 63,774 born in the U.S. The Census count is 27% 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 | 347 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,700 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,740 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 4,830 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 25,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 64,100 |
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 Santiago born?
The states with the most babies named Santiago are California, Texas and Arizona, with 55% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Arizona is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,991 | #4 | 2.1× |
| Texas | 1,829 | #4 | 2.6× |
| Arizona | 361 | #4 | 2.1× |
| Illinois | 356 | #11 | 1.1× |
| Florida | 319 | #62 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 181 | #52 | 0.6× |
| Washington | 180 | #24 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 179 | #63 | 0.5× |
| New York | 158 | #112 | 0.5× |
| Colorado | 149 | #27 | 1.0× |
Where Santiago is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Santiago is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 4.1 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 Santiago with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Santiago
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 Santiago and names like it
- Compare Santiago and EzekielBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sSantiago peaked in 2025.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Santiago since 1910.
- Spanish namesWiktionary’s origin for Santiago: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Santiago.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Santiago alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with SMost given first.