boy's name
Roberto
roh-BAIR-toh
- Origin Italian
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 118,909
the United States
#569
2025 births
Roberto means bright fame, the Italian and Spanish form of Robert, and both halves of the compound mean roughly the same thing — which is normal in Germanic naming rather than a redundancy. It peaked in 1991 and has 117,984 lifetime births behind it.
- Roberto is a name of Italian origin.
- Peaked in 1991, when 2,132 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 6,388 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1897.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Roberto over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 6 |
| 1900s | 66 |
| 1910s | 540 |
| 1920s | 2,470 |
| 1930s | 2,960 |
| 1940s | 4,518 |
| 1950s | 7,636 |
| 1960s | 10,988 |
| 1970s | 15,299 |
| 1980s | 17,973 |
| 1990s | 20,180 |
| 2000s | 18,042 |
| 2010s | 9,310 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,489 |
What Roberto means
Roberto means bright fame, or famous renown. The Germanic joins a word for fame to one meaning bright, so the two elements reinforce a single idea.
Where Roberto comes from
Roberto is the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Robert, from the Germanic Hrodebert — hrod, fame, joined to beraht, bright. Compounds pairing two near-synonyms were ordinary in Germanic naming, which assembled elements for sound and status as much as for combined sense. The Normans made Robert one of the most common male names in England for centuries, producing Rob, Bob, Robin, Bobby and Dobbin, and it spread through the Romance languages by the same route.
Roberto in use
Roberto peaked in the United States in 1991, when 2,132 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 569th in the United States on 519 births, 2739th in France on 10 and 3037th in England and Wales on 7, across 118,909 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1897.
How popular is Roberto?
In 2025, Roberto was given to 519 babies in the United States, ranking #569 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Roberto is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Roberto
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Roberto also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Roberto over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Roberto
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Roberto in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Roberto
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Roberto — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Roberto
What does the name Roberto mean?
Bright fame — the Germanic hrod, fame, joined to beraht, bright.
Why do both halves mean the same thing?
Germanic compounds were often assembled for sound and status rather than for a combined sense.
Is Rupert the same name?
Yes — a High German development of the same compound.
How popular is Roberto?
569th in the United States, down from a 1991 peak of 2,117 births.
Is Roberto a girl's or a boy's name?
Roberto is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Roberto?
Roberto has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Roberto?
Roberto is usually shortened to Beto and Rob.
Is Roberto a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Roberto currently ranks #569 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.