Given name & surname · also Late Latin
Primo
“first”·“the firstborn child”
Primo is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “first” (Late Latin) and “the firstborn child” (Italian). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “first” (Late Latin) and “the firstborn child” (Italian). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Late Latin.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1907. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Primo through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 874
- 874 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 31 babies
- 2025
- 10
- #8,083 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +15%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 10 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 8,083 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 31 in 1921. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,354 as a first name in 2020; 1,136 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.
Primo’s family of names
Primo shares a linguistic root with Prym. Primo has a related form in Preamo. Primo has a related form in Preemo.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 8
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 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Primo
- Primo LeviItalian chemist, partisan, Holocaust survivor, and writer (1919–1987)
- Primo CarneraItalian boxer (1906-1967)
- Primo NebioloItalian sports official and IAAF president (1923–1999)
- Primo MagnaniItalian racing cyclist (1892–1969)
- Primo ZampariniItalian boxer (1939–2024)
- Primo BaranItalian rowerborn 1943
- Primo ZeglioItalian film director (1906–1984)
- Primo VolpiItalian cyclist (1916–2006)
- Primo MazzolariItalian presbyter and writer (1890–1959)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Primo, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Richmond
“from the wealthy hill” · “a powerful protector”
>99% boys
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“the keeper of time”
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Orville
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Gaetano
“a man from Gaeta”
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Urban
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>99% boys
Santo
“a holy man”
>99% boys
Silvio
“a woodland dweller”
>99% boys