Mario
Meaning of Mario
Mario saunters onto the birth-certificate stage with all the swagger of a salsa beat, carrying a passport stamped España, Italia, and Portugal. Rooted in the ancient Roman clan name Marius—“devoted to Mars,” the fiery god of war—it has long whispered of strength and spirited adventure. Today, the name conjures a gallery of vivid images: a Formula 1 car streaking down Monza courtesy of Mario Andretti, a red-capped video-game hero leaping over pixelated pipes, and a heart-throb TV host flashing that unmistakable smile. Linguists and abuelas alike roll the three crisp syllables—MAH-ree-oh or the Portuguese MAH-ree-oo—like marbles in a hand, making Mario instantly recognizable on playgrounds from Miami to Milan. In the United States, he’s proved to be a marathoner rather than a sprinter, cruising comfortably inside the Top 400 for more than a century and peaking just shy of the Top 100 in the early 1990s before easing into a relaxed, steady rhythm. Equal parts classic Roman soldier and modern Latin charmer, Mario brings parents a name that can shimmy across cultures, fit on a baby’s onesie, and still look sharp etched on a corner-office door.
Pronunciation
Spanish
- Pronunced as MAH-ree-oh (/ˈma.ri.o/)
Italian
- Pronunced as MAH-ree-oh (/ˈmɑr.i.o/)
Portuguese
- Pronunced as MAH-ree-oo (/ˈma.ri.u/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Mario
| Mario Balotelli Barwuah is an Italian football striker. |
| Mario Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist, and politician, a leading figure of the Latin American Boom and the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. |
| Mario Draghi is an Italian economist and statesman who served as Italy’s prime minister and previously led the European Central Bank, the Financial Stability Board, and the Bank of Italy. |
| Mario Andretti is an American racing legend who won the 1978 Formula One world title, four IndyCar championships, the 1969 Indianapolis 500, the 1967 Daytona 500, and three 12 Hours of Sebring crowns. |
| Mario Lemieux is a Canadian hockey legend who spent 17 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, became their owner in 1999, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. |
| Mario Molina was a Mexican chemist whose work exposed CFC damage to the ozone layer and won him the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the first Mexican born scientist to do so. |
| Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood film star of the late 1940s and 1950s who won an MGM contract after a 1947 Hollywood Bowl performance and sang Pinkerton in 1948. |
| Mario Chalmers - Almario Vernard Chalmers is an American basketball player who starred at Kansas, won the 2008 NCAA title and Most Outstanding Player honors, was the 34th pick in the 2008 NBA draft, and later played for the Zamboanga Valientes. |
| Mario Savio was an American activist and leading voice of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, famed for his passionate Bodies Upon the Gears speech at Sproul Hall in 1964. |
| Mario Batali is an American chef and TV host known for acclaimed New York restaurants like Babbo, but after 2017 sexual misconduct allegations he sold his restaurant holdings and stepped back from the business. |
| Mario Kassar - Mario F. Kassar is a Lebanese American film producer and industry executive who co-founded Carolco Pictures and produced hits like the Rambo films, Terminator 2, and Total Recall. |
| Mario Van Peebles is a Mexican-born American actor and director known for Heartbreak Ridge, for directing and starring in New Jack City, and for portraying his father Melvin Van Peebles in a 2003 biopic he co-wrote and directed. |
| Mario Lopez is an American actor and TV host best known as AC Slater on Saved by the Bell and for hosting Extra, Access Hollywood, Americas Best Dance Crew, and The X Factor. |
| Mario Puzo was an American author and screenwriter best known for The Godfather, winning two Oscars for its first two films and also writing the original Superman movies. |
| Mario Alberto Kempes is an Argentine former forward and prolific goalscorer, La Liga top scorer twice with Valencia, and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. |
