Given name & surname
Santos
“a holy man”
Santos is a variant of Santo. One Italian interpretation is “a holy man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Santos is a variant of Santo. One Italian interpretation is “a holy man.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Santos is a variant of Santo. An origin associated with Santo is Italian.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Romance Santos, from Spanish Santos, from Portuguese Santos.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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
Santos through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 21,573
- 18,814 boys · 2,759 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 337 babies
- 2025
- 337
- #766 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +37%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 100% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 337 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 766 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 37.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (83). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 40,112 as a first name in 2020; 144,026 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.
Santos’s family of names
Santos has a related form in Santo. In Greek usage, Santos as a surname is a transliteration of Σάντος.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Santos
- Santos IriarteUruguayan footballer (1902-1968)
- Santos UrdinaránUruguayan footballer (1900-1979)
- Canelo ÁlvarezMexican boxerborn 1990
- Santos Abril y CastellóCatholic cardinalborn 1935
- Santos GonzálezSpanish cyclistborn 1973
- Santos GutiérrezColombian statesman and soldier (1820-1872)
- Santos JuliáSpanish historian1940–2019
- Santos Amadorbolivian footballer and managerborn 1982
- Santos León HerreraCosta Rican politician1874–1950
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Santos, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Samson
“sun man”
>99% boys
Santino
“a holy man”
>99% boys
Sylas
“a woodland dweller”
99% boys · 1% girls
Cyrus
“a king”
99% boys · 1% girls
Sonny
“our son”
93% boys · 7% girls
Soren
“one who is strict; stern”
94% boys · 6% girls
Saint
“a holy man”
98% boys · 2% girls
Silas
“a woodland dweller”
>99% boys