Rio

Did you know?

A few things about Rio you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Rio

Rio Ferdinand

English association football player (born 1978)

Choose Rio and your child shares a first name with Rio Ferdinand, an English association football player. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Rio, like who?” Rio Ferdinand's Wikipedia article is available in 74 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Rio Ferdinand on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Web Summit, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 3,034 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Rio, 563 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Rio would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryRio first shows up in US birth records in 1920, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 105 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 2024, when it reached #517.
• 📈Then vs nowRio is 10× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 31,646 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 3,034.
• 🚀TrendRio has climbed 242 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #532. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedRio is most popular in Washington, D.C., where it ranks #139, followed by New Mexico (#236) and California (#314). It's in the top 1,000 in 28 states.
• ⚖️Boy or girlRio is given to both boys and girls: 84% of the 668 babies named Rio in 2025 were boys. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningIn Spanish, Rio means “river”.

About the name Rio

Rio is a gender-neutral name of Spanish origin meaning “river”. It has 3 letters and 1 syllable, starting with R and ending in “-rio”. US birth records list Rio for boys from 1920 to 2025, in 63 of those 106 years. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked #517 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #532, with 563 babies. Of the 668 US babies named Rio in 2025, 16% were girls and 84% were boys.

Origin:Spanish names