boys' name ★ peaked 1980

Mario

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #438 Trend ↓ Falling 21%

Borrowed from Italian and Spanish Mario, both of which coming from Latin Marius.

Rank 2025
#438
among boys · ↓40 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
721
named Mario · -11% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,369
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1980
2,974 babies
All-time total
152,403
#229 all-time among boys
First recorded
1897
in Social Security records

Mario popularity over time

152,403 babies have been named Mario since 1897, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – 7 7 1 – #903
1900s – 144 144 14 +1957% #471
1910s 6 2,506 2,512 251 +1644% #252
1920s 43 4,779 4,822 482 +92% #248
1930s 20 3,214 3,234 323 -33% #265
1940s 17 3,994 4,011 401 +24% #262
1950s 70 10,479 10,549 1,055 +163% #211
1960s 145 13,491 13,636 1,364 +29% #170
1970s 300 20,949 21,249 2,125 +56% #103
1980s 311 26,396 26,707 2,671 +26% #102
1990s 137 24,573 24,710 2,471 -7% #119
2000s 44 22,430 22,474 2,247 -9% #167
2010s – 13,188 13,188 1,319 -41% #208
2020s (to 2025) – 5,160 5,160 860 -35% #329

Where Mario is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 694 0.41 #452
2027 672 0.39 #462
2028 654 0.38 #469
2029 639 0.37 #477
2030 627 0.37 #481

Where Mario is most popular

Boys named Mario per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.482 per 1,000. Strongest in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Mario born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Mexico 36 1.09 +127%
Arizona 175 1.07 +122%
Texas 941 1.07 +122%
California 810 0.886 +84%
Nevada 46 0.807 +67%
Illinois 159 0.622 +29%
Kansas 42 0.612 +27%
Oregon 45 0.593 +23%
Maryland 68 0.570 +18%
Florida 262 0.553 +15%
Colorado 65 0.504 +5%
Tennessee 88 0.488 ≈ national
Alabama 51 0.467 ≈ national
Oklahoma 41 0.464 ≈ national
New Jersey 90 0.447 -7%
Georgia 111 0.438 -9%
Nebraska 19 0.437 -9%
Virginia 81 0.427 -11%
Washington 69 0.422 -12%
Connecticut 28 0.414 -14%
North Carolina 103 0.403 -16%
Michigan 80 0.391 -19%
New York 147 0.340 -30%
Massachusetts 46 0.335 -31%
Louisiana 34 0.332 -31%
South Carolina 34 0.329 -32%
Iowa 22 0.319 -34%
Utah 30 0.314 -35%
Indiana 50 0.312 -35%
Pennsylvania 78 0.294 -39%
Missouri 35 0.253 -48%
Wisconsin 29 0.245 -49%
Ohio 61 0.230 -52%
Arkansas 12 0.190 -61%
Kentucky 18 0.179 -63%
Mississippi 10 0.176 -63%
Minnesota 21 0.171 -64%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Mario

Mario is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #438 in 2025 with 721 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1897, 152,403 American babies have been named Mario. Its peak came in 1980, when 2,974 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Mario stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Mario?

The median living Mario is about 36 years old; half are between 22 and 50. An estimated 131 thousand people named Mario are alive in the United States today.

median 36 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Mario year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 721 #438
2024 – – 810 #398
2023 – – 791 #404
2022 – – 902 #365
2021 – – 937 #348
2020 – – 999 #329
2019 – – 1,030 #323
2018 – – 1,022 #328
2017 – – 1,139 #307
2016 – – 1,156 #307
2015 – – 1,294 #286
2014 – – 1,368 #269
2013 – – 1,428 #255
2012 – – 1,445 #254
2011 – – 1,598 #224
2010 – – 1,708 #208
2009 – – 1,938 #198
2008 6 #16,746 2,167 #184
2007 – – 2,291 #180
2006 5 #19,019 2,295 #178
2005 – – 2,304 #179
2004 9 #11,294 2,262 #178
2003 6 #15,063 2,358 #168
2002 6 #14,752 2,265 #170
2001 12 #8,545 2,217 #170
2000 – – 2,333 #167
1995 13 #6,894 2,391 #149
1990 24 #4,185 2,823 #119
1985 27 #3,299 2,416 #117
1980 38 #2,517 2,936 #102
1975 32 #2,491 2,059 #125
1970 26 #2,747 1,898 #159
1965 12 #3,868 1,289 #197
1960 10 #4,353 1,326 #211
1955 13 #3,319 1,075 #219
1950 – – 746 #246
1945 5 #4,997 345 #320
1940 – – 294 #334
1935 – – 304 #312
1930 6 #4,370 449 #265
1925 5 #5,499 501 #253
1920 – – 408 #276
1915 – – 354 #255
1910 – – 47 #379
1905 – – 14 #655
1900 – – 5 #1,432
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Mario

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Mario Cuomo Mario Cuomo Governor of New York from 1983 to 1994 1932–2015 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Mario Götze Mario Götze German footballer (born 1992) Contemporary
  3. 3 Mario Andretti Mario Andretti American racing driver (born 1940) Contemporary
  4. 4 Mario Puzo Mario Puzo American author and screenwriter (1920–1999) Contemporary
  5. 5 Mario Kempes Mario Kempes Argentine footballer and manager (born 1954) Contemporary
  6. 6 Mario Mandžukić Mario Mandžukić Croatian footballer (born 1986) Contemporary
  7. 7 Mario Vargas Llosa Mario Vargas Llosa Peruvian novelist and writer (1936–2025) Contemporary
  8. 8 Mario Draghi Mario Draghi Prime Minister of Italy from 2021 to 2022 b. 1947 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Mario Gómez Mario Gómez German association football player b. 1985 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Mario Lanza Mario Lanza American tenor and actor (1921–1959) Contemporary
  11. 11 Mario Casas Mario Casas Spanish film and television actor b. 1986 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Mario Adorf Mario Adorf German actor and writer (1930–2026) Contemporary
  13. 13 Mario Bava Mario Bava Italian filmmaker (1914–1980) Contemporary
  14. 14 Mario Monti Mario Monti Italian economist and politician (born 1943) Contemporary
  15. 15 Mario Brega Mario Brega Italian actor (1923–1994) Contemporary
  16. 16 Mario Benedetti Mario Benedetti Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet (1920–2009) Contemporary
  17. 17 Mario Capecchi Mario Capecchi Italian-American molecular geneticist (born 1937) Contemporary
  18. 18 Mario Monicelli Mario Monicelli Italian film director and screenwriter (1915–2010) Contemporary
  19. 19 Mario Bunge Mario Bunge Argentine-Canadian philosopher (1919–2020) Contemporary
  20. 20 Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Italian-Jewish composer (1895–1968) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Mario, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Mario?

The median living Mario is about 36 years old. Half of all living Marios are between 22 and 50 years old.

How many people named Mario are alive today?

An estimated 131 thousand people named Mario are alive in the United States, based on 152,403 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Mario mean?

Borrowed from Italian and Spanish Mario, both of which coming from Latin Marius.

How popular is the name Mario in 2025?

Mario ranked #438 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 721 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Mario?

152,403 babies have been named Mario in the United States since 1897, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Mario most popular?

Mario peaked in 1980, when 2,974 newborns received the name.

Is Mario a boy or girl name?

Mario is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Mario rising or falling?

Mario is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Mario become more popular?

Mario is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 627 boys named Mario in 2030, which would rank around #481. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Mario?

Well-known people named Mario include Mario Cuomo (politician), Mario Götze (soccer player), Mario Andretti (racing driver).

Names like Mario

Names that sound and feel close to Mario: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Mario with similar names → More names starting with M →