Given name & surname
Modesto
“one who is without conceit”
Modesto is a variant of Modesty. One Latin interpretation is “one who is without conceit.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Modesto is a variant of Modesty. One Latin interpretation is “one who is without conceit.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Modesto is a variant of Modesty. An origin associated with Modesty is Latin. Modesto shares an earlier linguistic root with Modest. An origin associated with Modest is Late Latin.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1908. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Modesto through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,559
- 2,559 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1927
- 37 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #9,432 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +20%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 9,432 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 20.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,688 as a first name in 2020; 1,855 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.
Modesto’s family of names
Modesto shares a linguistic root with Modest. Modesto has a related form in Modesty. In Italian usage, Modesto has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Modest.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Modesto
- Modesto DenisParaguayan footballer1898–1956
- Modesto SorucoBolivian footballerborn 1966
- Modesto LafuenteSpanish critic and historian (1806–1866)
- Modesto Cortázar y Leal de IbarraSpanish politician and lawyer (1783-1862)
- Modesto ValleItalian association football player (1893-1979)
- Modesto BrocosSpanish author (1852-1936)
- ModestusBishop of Trier500–489
- Tito VázquezArgentine tennis playerborn 1949
- Modesto BriaParaguayan football player (1922-1996)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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