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At a glance

In short
Diego is a Spanish boy's name of uncertain origin, often linked to Santiago (Saint James).
U.S. rank 2025
#158 of boy names
Babies in 2025
2,351 (0.13% of boys)
Trend
Slipping #126 in 2020 to #158 in 2025
Peak
#56 in 2006
First recorded
1887

Meaning of Diego

Diego is a Spanish boy's name of uncertain origin. It is often explained as a form of Santiago, Spanish for Saint James, though its Latin form, Didacus, has also been linked to a Greek word for teaching. In Spanish it is pronounced dee-AY-go, and English speakers say it much the same way.

Two celebrated artists bore the name: Diego Velázquez, court painter to King Philip IV of Spain, and Diego Rivera, whose frescoes helped establish the Mexican mural movement. The California city of San Diego is named after Saint Diego of Alcalá, a 15th-century Spanish friar.

In the United States, Diego climbed from 628th in 1980 to its peak of 56th in 2006. It has slipped since then and ranked 158th in 2025, when 2,351 babies were given the name.

How to pronounce Diego

Spanish

Popularity of Diego in the U.S.

Diego was the #158 boy name in the U.S. in 2025, with 2,351 babies. It peaked at #56 in 2006 and has been in the top 1,000 since 1963. It first appears in the records in 1887.

Bar and line chart: Diego in the U.S., 1887–2025. Bars: boys given the name each year, most 8,403 in 2006 and 2,351 in 2025. Line: rank among boy names, peak #56 in 2006, #158 in 2025.
  • Boys named Diego (left scale)
  • Rank among U.S. boy names (right scale, #1 at the top)
By year, 1887–2025. Source: SSA. Download: PNG · SVG
Year-by-year table, 1887⁠–⁠2025 118 rows
Diego: babies and rank among boy names in the U.S. by year
YearBabiesRankvs previous year
20252,351158▼ 13
20242,511145▼ 10
20232,747135▼ 11
20222,970124▲ 2
20212,925126–
20202,910126▲ 3
20192,990129▲ 6
20182,884135▼ 6
20173,102129▲ 1
20163,201130▼ 5
20153,237125▲ 4
20143,171129▲ 1
20132,921130▼ 20
20123,337110▼ 11
20113,82499▼ 13
20104,71986▼ 10
20095,41476▼ 7
20086,57269▼ 11
20078,21658▼ 2
20068,40356▲ 6
20056,94262▲ 11
20045,87673▲ 10
20035,12183▲ 15
20023,97998▲ 41
20012,833139▲ 8
20002,685147▲ 2
19992,416149▲ 38
19981,807187▼ 1
19971,785186▲ 32
19961,380218▲ 10
19951,298228▲ 9
19941,260237▲ 62
1993914299▲ 2
1992890301▼ 6
1991879295▲ 12
1990830307▲ 8
1989759315▲ 33
1988596348▲ 20
1987525368▲ 49
1986421417▲ 50
1985343467▲ 6
1984317473▲ 36
1983275509▲ 18
1982262527▲ 59
1981211586▲ 42
1980193628▲ 94
1979144722▼ 1
1978136721▼ 35
1977152686▲ 74
1976119760▼ 76
1975145684▲ 28
1974133712▲ 54
1973108766▲ 22
1972103788▲ 11
1971101799▲ 1
1970103800▲ 46
196982846▲ 122
196857968▼ 93
196767875▼ 56
196679819▲ 78
196567897▲ 48
196465945▲ 39
196359984▲ 54
1962541,038▼ 10
1961581,028▲ 139
1960451,167▼ 99
1959521,068▼ 106
195862962▲ 237
1957421,199▲ 312
1956271,511▼ 198
1955331,313▼ 2
1954331,311▲ 67
1953301,378▲ 371
1952191,749▼ 106
1951211,643▼ 354
1950311,289▲ 8
1949311,297▲ 359
1948201,656▼ 293
1947291,363▲ 279
1946191,642▲ 130
1945151,772▼ 334
1944221,438▲ 48
1943221,486▼ 188
1942291,298▲ 113
1941231,411▲ 483
1940141,894▼ 15
1939141,879▼ 358
1938201,521▲ 55
1937191,576▲ 147
1936161,723▼ 333
1935241,390▲ 161
1934201,551▼ 190
1933241,361▲ 290
1932191,651▲ 119
1931171,770▲ 194
1930151,964▼ 586
1929271,378▲ 269
1928211,647▲ 101
1927201,748▼ 282
1926251,466▲ 727
1925142,193▼ 813
1924291,380▲ 561
1923171,941▲ 406
1922132,347▼ 367
1921171,980▲ 251
1920142,231▼ 536
1919201,695▲ 565
1918132,260▲ 472
191792,732▼ 1,034
1916181,698▲ 760
1915102,458▼ 187
191492,271▼ 326
191391,945▼ 199
191291,746▼ 359
191171,387▼ 194
191081,193back (not recorded in 1904–1909)
190351,130back (not recorded in 1888–1902)
18875921new

Diego by state

Diego ranks #35 in New Mexico (2025).

Map: Diego's 2025 rank among boy names in each U.S. state
Rank among boy names by state, 2025. Source: SSA. Download: PNG · SVG
Rank by state 39 states and DC
Diego: rank and babies by state, 2025
StateRankBabies
New Mexico3536
California74499
Arizona75100
Texas83476
Florida115186
Illinois13088
Colorado13452
Nevada13423
Oregon13530
Maryland13643
Virginia15956
District of Columbia1685
Nebraska17316
Kansas17522
New Jersey17757
Washington18248
Georgia18566
Massachusetts20231
Delaware2035
Louisiana22123
North Carolina22256
Tennessee22240
Utah23322
Indiana23635
Connecticut24913
Wisconsin25523
New York27667
Minnesota28721
South Carolina28719
Oklahoma29316
Ohio31238
Alabama31517
Idaho3327
Pennsylvania34232
Kentucky34514
Iowa34610
Michigan40921
Mississippi4157
Arkansas4447
Missouri6488
U.S. territories
Puerto Rico2745

Notable people named Diego

  • Diego Maradona was an Argentine footballer and manager, widely hailed as one of the greatest and a joint winner of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century alongside Pele.
  • Diego da Silva Costa is a professional football striker.
  • Diego Velázquez — Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a leading Spanish Baroque painter at the court of King Philip IV, best known for his masterpiece Las Meninas.
  • Diego Ribas da Cunha, known as Diego, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
  • Diego Sebastian Schwartzman is an Argentine former tennis pro who reached world number 8 in 2020, won four ATP singles titles, and excelled as a clay court returner.
More people named Diego 9 more
  • Diego Hernan Valeri is a retired Argentine attacking midfielder.
  • Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter whose monumental frescoes helped establish the modern mural movement in Mexico and beyond.
  • Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander is a Mexican actor director and producer best known as Cassian Andor in Rogue One and the Disney Plus series Andor, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama.
  • Diego de Almagro was a Spanish conquistador who joined Pizarro in conquering Peru, helped found Quito and Trujillo as Spanish cities, led the first expedition to Chile, and was defeated at Las Salinas and executed in 1538 after a civil war over Cuzco.
  • Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar was a Spanish conquistador and first governor of Cuba who led its conquest and colonization and chartered expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
  • Mexican footballer Diego Lainez Leyva is a winger for Tigres UANL and the Mexico national team.
  • Diego Santiago Fagúndez Pepe is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution.
  • Diego Portales was a Chilean statesman and entrepreneur who, as a dominant minister in the 1830s, helped enact the 1833 Constitution and shaped Chile into a centralized conservative republic.
  • Diego Boneta is a Mexican actor, producer, and singer best known for Rock of Ages, the Netflix series about Luis Miguel, and the films Father of the Bride and At Midnight.