Given name & surname
Hiro
“a giving man”
Hiro is used as a given name and a surname. One Japanese interpretation is “a giving man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Japanese interpretation is “a giving man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Japanese.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Hiro through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 917
- 912 boys · 5 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 77 babies
- 2025
- 43
- #2,902 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −2%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 43 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,902 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 2.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 77 in 2016. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (11). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 947 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Hiro
- Hiro MatsushitaJapanese businessman and former racing driverborn 1961
- Hiro MashimaJapanese manga artistborn 1977
- Hiro YamamotoJapanese-American musicianborn 1961
- Hiro ShimonoJapanese voice actor and singerborn 1980
- Hiro MizushimaJapanese actorborn 1984
- Hiro KanagawaCanadian actorborn 1963
- Hiro ArikawaJapanese writer (1972-) of light novels
- Hiro YūkiJapanese voice actorborn 1965
- Hiro MatsudaJapanese professional wrestler (1937–1999)
Characters named Hiro: Hiro Takachiho (Marvel Comics).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Hiro, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Toshiro
“one who is talented and intelligent”
>99% boys
Hikaru
Hikaru is a unisex given name from Japanese.
>99% boys
Hayato
Hayato is a masculine given name from Japanese. It is used in English and Czech.
>99% boys
Meiko
Meiko is a feminine given name from Japanese.
79% boys · 21% girls
Kei
Kei is a unisex given name from Japanese.
92% boys · 8% girls
Akio
Akio is a masculine given name from Japanese. It is used in English and Portuguese.
>99% boys
Renzo
“the third-born son”
>99% boys
Ryu
“a dragon”
99% boys · 1% girls