Given name & surname · also Italian, Germanic
Napoleon
“a man from Naples”·“son of the mists”
Napoleon is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “a man from Naples” and “son of the mists”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original ItalianNapoleone
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “a man from Naples” and “son of the mists”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with French, Italian, and Germanic naming traditions. The precise derivation is uncertain.
How it developed
In Faroese usage, Napoleon developed from Napoleone.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Napoleon through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 7,810
- 7,805 boys · 5 girls
- Most popular year
- 1926
- 122 babies
- 2025
- 22
- #4,651 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 22 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,651 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 12.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 122 in 1926. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,933 as a first name in 2020; 2,640 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.
Napoleon’s family of names
In Faroese usage, Napoleon has a short form in POLI. In Faroese usage, Napoleon developed from the Italian form Napoleone. Napoleon has a related form in Napolean.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Napoleon has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
6 related names in 6 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Napoleon
- Napoleon IIIPresident of the Second French Republic, Emperor of the Second French Empire and last monarch of France (1808–1873)
- Napoleon HillAmerican author (1883-1970)
- Prince Napoléon-Jérôme BonaparteNapoleon's nephew (1822–1891)
- Napoleon OrdaPolish artist (1807-1883)
- Napoleon ChagnonAmerican anthropologist (1938–2019)
- Napoléon SaronyAmerican artist (1821-1896)
- Napoleon CybulskiPolish biologist (1854-1919)
- Napoléon CosteFrench composer (1805–1883)
- Napoleon Murphy BrockAmerican singer, saxophonist and flautistborn 1943
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Napoleon, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Norman
“a man from the north”
>99% boys
Margarito
“resembling a pearl”
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Refugio
“one who provides shelter”
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Norbert
“one who shines from the north”
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Laurent
“a graceful woman”
90% boys · 10% girls
Cipriano
“a man from Cyprus”
>99% boys
Santo
“a holy man”
>99% boys
Aloysius
Aloysius is a masculine given name from Occitan.
>99% boys