Given name & surname
Severo
“severe, stern”
Severo is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “severe, stern.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “severe, stern.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
The story
The name’s historical associations include a large number of early saints, including bishops of Ravenna, Naples, and Barcelona.
Severo through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,400
- 1,400 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1924
- 24 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,776 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −24%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,776 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,676 as a first name in 2020; 453 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.
Severo’s family of names
Severo has a feminine form in Severa. Severo has a related form in Severin.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 5
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 Severo
- Severo OchoaSpanish physician1905–1993
- Severo SarduyCuban writer (1937-1993)
- Severo MezaMexican footballerborn 1986
- Severo FernándezPresident of Bolivia (1849–1925)
- Severo Moto NsáEquatoguinean politicianborn 1943
- Severo CaermareFilipino Roman Catholic bishopborn 1969
- Severo BoniniItalian composer and organist1582–1663
- Severo CatalinaSpanish politician (1832–1871)
- Severo Aparicio QuispePeruvian Roman Catholic Bishop1923–2013
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Severo, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Seraphin
Seraphin is a surname from French, ultimately from Latin.
84% boys · 16% girls
Gennaro
“born of Janus”
>99% boys
Silvio
“a woodland dweller”
>99% boys
Sabato
“day of rest”
>99% boys
Sylvester
“man from the forest”
>99% boys
Emiel
“rival”
>99% boys
Cecil
“one who is blind” · “the sixth-born child”
>99% boys
Gaetano
“a man from Gaeta”
>99% boys