Given name & surname · also Late Latin
Porfirio
“refers to a purple coloring”
Porfirio is used as a given name and a surname. One Greek interpretation is “refers to a purple coloring.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Greek interpretation is “refers to a purple coloring.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Late Latin.
How it developed
From Latin Porphyrius, from Ancient Greek Πορφύριος.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1903. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Porfirio through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,526
- 3,526 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 56 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #10,424 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −29%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 10,424 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 28.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 56 in 1921. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,300 as a first name in 2020; 492 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.
Porfirio’s family of names
Porfirio has a related form in Porfiro. Porfirio has a related form in Porphirios. Porfirio has a related form in Porphyrios.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Porfirio
- Porfirio DíazPresident of Mexico (1830–1915)
- Porfirio Lobo Sosa37th President of Honduras (2010–2014)born 1947
- Porfirio RubirosaDominican diplomat, playboy, polo player and racecar driver (1909–1965)
- Porfirio Muñoz LedoMexican diplomat and politician (1933–2023)
- Porfirio LópezCosta Rican footballerborn 1985
- Porfirio R. Iligan1922–2001
- Porfirio JiménezMexican association football playerborn 1965
- Porfirio FisacSpanish sports coachborn 1965
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Porfirio, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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