Given name & surname · also African

Cairo

“from the city in Egypt”·“one who is victorious; from the capital of Egypt”

Cairo is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “from the city in Egypt” (African) and “one who is victorious; from the capital of Egypt” (Arabic). These may reflect different naming traditions.

Meaning & origin

What it means

Interpretations include “from the city in Egypt” (African) and “one who is victorious; from the capital of Egypt” (Arabic). These may reflect different naming traditions.

Where it comes from

This spelling has been associated with African and Arabic naming traditions.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1979. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Cairo through the years

Babies since 1880
9,999
9,415 boys · 584 girls
Most popular year
2022
1,157 babies
2025
1,000
#341 for boys · #4,085 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20
+61%
Rising fast
Boys Girls
0200400600800198020002025Highest share 2022Boys 565Girls 22
Cairo in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1979–2025, per million births of each sex. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Where it’s given

Most at home inMaryland, Georgia, Louisiana
FewerMore, relative to births Not published
2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: Maryland (32), Georgia (71), Louisiana (24), South Carolina (23), Florida (99).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 965 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 341 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 62.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 35 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (114). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,199 as a first name in 2020; 1,832 as a surname in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Cairo’s family of names

Cairo may belong to the same name family as CAIRRO. This is a tentative spelling connection.

Walk Cairo’s family in the name graph

CairoKairoCayro

The ring: spellings.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Spellings & scripts 2

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

People named Cairo

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Cairo, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

African · Modern

Kazi

“a hardworking man”

32RareRising fast

79% boys · 21% girls

Arabic · Modern

Kanaan

Kanaan is a surname from Arabic.

32RareEasing

>99% boys

Arabic · Modern

Zayn

“one who is bold”

69FamiliarRising

99% boys · 1% girls

Arabic · Modern

Yousef

“God will add”

53UncommonSteady

>99% boys

Arabic · Modern

Ayub

Ayub is a surname from Arabic. It is used in English, Turkish, Indonesian, and Malay.

38RareEasing

>99% boys

Arabic · Modern

Kerim

Kerim is a masculine given name from Ottoman Turkish, ultimately from Arabic. It is used in Turkish.

24RareEasing

>99% boys

Arabic · Modern

Asil

Asil is a masculine given name from Ottoman Turkish, ultimately from Arabic. It is used in Turkish.

22RareRising fast

87% boys · 13% girls

Arabic · Modern

Rakan

Rakan is a masculine given name from Arabic.

37RareRising

>99% boys

Sibling ideas

Names that share Cairo’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Cairo

A sister for Cairo