Something has changed in American baby naming in the past decade that the numbers make undeniable.
Mateo — a Spanish form of Matthew — is the #5 boys name in America in 2024, with nearly 19,000 babies. Twenty years ago it didn't appear in the top 100. Luna is the #10 girls name. Santiago is #35. Valentina is #71. Isabella — an Italian/Spanish name — has been in the top 10 for 15 years.
Hispanic and Latin-origin names have crossed from ethnic-specific to mainstream American in ways that represent one of the most significant shifts in the SSA's 140 years of data.
The data: Spanish-origin names in the top 100, 2024
| Name | Origin | 1994 Rank | 2014 Rank | 2024 Rank | 2024 Babies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mateo | Spanish form of Matthew | #414 | #48 | #5 | 18,694 |
| Luna | Latin/Spanish: moon | #882 | #162 | #10 | 14,130 |
| Santiago | Spanish: Saint James | #512 | #106 | #35 | 8,012 |
| Valentina | Latin: strong/healthy | #441 | #103 | #71 | 5,006 |
| Diego | Spanish form of James | #199 | #145 | #86 | 4,498 |
| Elena | Spanish/Italian: Helen | #195 | #109 | #68 | 5,201 |
| Isabella | Spanish/Italian: Elizabeth | #94 | #4 | #13 | 13,442 |
| Sofia | Spanish/Italian: Sophia | #75 | #10 | #18 | 11,820 |
| Camila | Spanish/Italian: Camille | #282 | #42 | #28 | 9,786 |
| Adrian | Latin: from Hadria | #92 | #57 | #76 | 4,820 |
Mateo: the most dramatic crossover in a generation
Mateo — Boys #5, 18,694 babies in 2024.
Mateo's rise is one of the most remarkable in SSA history. It was a common name in Spanish-speaking communities in America for decades but was essentially invisible in the overall SSA rankings because it was concentrated within those communities. Then it crossed over.
| Year | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | #414 | 603 |
| 2000 | #237 | 1,516 |
| 2004 | #153 | 2,786 |
| 2010 | #104 | 4,200 |
| 2014 | #48 | 7,218 |
| 2018 | #23 | 11,098 |
| 2022 | #10 | 17,034 |
| 2024 | #5 | 18,694 |
What happened? The Hispanic share of the US population grew from about 9% in 1990 to over 19% in 2024. As the Hispanic community has grown and become more integrated into mainstream American culture, so have their naming traditions. Non-Hispanic families who admire the sound and heritage of names like Mateo are increasingly choosing them too.
Mateo is also just a beautiful name — the "M" opening, the "-teo" ending, the three-syllable flow. It has everything: cultural heritage, melodic appeal, and the slight distinctiveness of not being Matthew while being recognizably related to it.
Luna: crossing over through meaning
Luna — Girls #10, 14,130 babies in 2024.
Luna means "moon" in Spanish, Italian, and Latin. It's been a common name in Hispanic and Italian communities for generations. Its crossover into the mainstream came through the meaning rather than the ethnicity — parents of all backgrounds were drawn to the celestial, mythological resonance.
| Year | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | #882 | ~200 |
| 2004 | #603 | 447 |
| 2010 | #320 | 1,004 |
| 2014 | #162 | 2,036 |
| 2018 | #41 | 7,234 |
| 2021 | #12 | 13,368 |
| 2024 | #10 | 14,130 |
Luna is now in the top 10 — the highest-ranking Spanish-origin name among girls. Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter) introduced the name to a generation; the pandemic's celestial name surge accelerated it (see pandemic-baby-names); and the cross-cultural nature of "moon" as a concept means Luna belongs to no single cultural tradition.
Santiago: the big crossover for boys
Santiago — Boys #35, 8,012 babies in 2024.
Santiago is the Spanish name for Saint James (Sant- Iago = Saint James). It's the patron saint of Spain, the name of the Chilean capital, and one of the oldest and most storied names in the Iberian tradition.
| Year | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | #512 | 383 |
| 2004 | #299 | 1,072 |
| 2014 | #106 | 4,092 |
| 2018 | #70 | 5,786 |
| 2022 | #38 | 7,826 |
| 2024 | #35 | 8,012 |
Santiago is still climbing. The four-syllable length that might seem unwieldy for an American mainstream name hasn't slowed it — parents who choose it clearly love the full name, and "Santi" is a natural nickname. The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway, 1952) features a protagonist named Santiago, giving it classic literary credibility beyond ethnic association.
Valentina: the most elegant crossover
Valentina — Girls #71, 5,006 babies in 2024.
Valentina is the feminine form of Valentine (from Latin valens, meaning "strong" or "healthy"). It's been a name in Spanish, Italian, and Eastern European traditions, and has become one of the most elegant mainstream crossovers.
| Year | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | #441 | 576 |
| 2004 | #227 | 1,335 |
| 2014 | #103 | 4,032 |
| 2018 | #76 | 5,138 |
| 2022 | #68 | 5,212 |
| 2024 | #71 | 5,006 |
Valentina is essentially flat in the low 70s. It benefits from the "grandeur" naming trend (see long-baby-names) — parents who want something elegant and elaborate find Valentina hits the same register as Seraphina or Evangeline, but with broader recognition.
Why now? The demographic and cultural shift
The crossover of Hispanic names into mainstream American use is driven by several converging forces:
1. Demographic growth. The Hispanic population's growth has made Spanish-origin names far more familiar to non-Hispanic Americans through school, work, and culture.
2. Cultural prestige. Latin American culture has gained enormous cultural prestige in American media, music (reggaeton, Latin pop), food, and film. Names follow cultural prestige.
3. Sound aesthetics. Spanish names tend to have vowel-rich endings (-o, -a, -ia) that are currently fashionable in American naming. Mateo, Sofia, Camila, Elena all fit perfectly with the current taste for melodic, open-vowel names.
4. Cross-cultural families. The rise of intermarriage across Hispanic and non-Hispanic communities means children with Spanish heritage and non-Spanish surnames are increasingly common, and parents want names that honor both traditions.
This trend shows no sign of slowing. Names like Emiliano, Valentino, Paloma, and Xiomara are all entering the top 500 — the next wave is already forming.
See italian-origin-names and spanish-origin-names for the heritage side of this story, and rising-boy-names-2024 for the current fastest climbers.