boy's name
Romeo
ROH-mee-oh
- Origin Latin
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 47,582
the United States
#301
2025 births
Romeo is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "pilgrim to Rome." It named someone who had made the journey — a medieval job description rather than a romantic one.
- Romeo is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 2024, when 1,191 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,937 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Romeo over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 8 |
| 1890s | 66 |
| 1900s | 137 |
| 1910s | 800 |
| 1920s | 996 |
| 1930s | 630 |
| 1940s | 475 |
| 1950s | 450 |
| 1960s | 502 |
| 1970s | 604 |
| 1980s | 746 |
| 1990s | 1,501 |
| 2000s | 4,475 |
| 2010s | 9,229 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,245 |
What Romeo means
Romeo means a pilgrim to Rome, from the Late Latin romaeus. It described a completed act rather than a quality, in the way palmer named someone who had reached Jerusalem.
Where Romeo comes from
Romeo comes from the Late Latin romaeus, one who has made the pilgrimage to Rome — a recognized term in medieval Italy alongside palmiere for a Jerusalem pilgrim. Shakespeare took the name from Arthur Brooke's 1562 poem, itself from an Italian novella, and Romeo and Juliet fixed it as a byword for a lover; the word romeo entered English meaning a suitor by the eighteenth century. That association is entirely literary — nothing in the name's own history concerns love.
Romeo in use
Our data shows Romeo peaking in 2024 and still rising, at 198 in England and Wales against 301 in the United States. It first appears in our records in 1880. Its British climb owes something to Romeo Beckham, born 2002, which our year-by-year series places at the start of its rise.
How popular is Romeo?
In 2025, Romeo was given to 1,129 babies in the United States, ranking #301 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Romeo 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.
How Romeo is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Roméo | Roméo is Romeo written with an acute accent in France, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #80 in France, against #494 for Romeo. | 13,610 |
| Romëo | Romëo is a rare spelling of Romeo, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Romeo
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Romeo also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Romeo over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Romeo
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.
Romeo 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 Romeo
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Romeo — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Romeo
What does the name Romeo mean?
Romeo means "pilgrim to Rome," from the Late Latin romaeus.
Is Romeo a romantic name?
Only by literary association. The word romeo came to mean a suitor after Shakespeare; the name itself describes a pilgrimage.
Did Shakespeare invent Romeo?
No — he took it from Arthur Brooke's 1562 poem, itself drawn from an Italian novella.
How popular is the name Romeo?
In 2025, Romeo was given to 1,129 babies in the United States, ranking #301 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Romeo a girl's or a boy's name?
Romeo is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Romeo?
Romeo has 3 syllables.
When was Romeo most popular?
Romeo peaked in 2024, when 1,191 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Romeo?
Romeo is usually shortened to Rome and Romy.
Is Romeo a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Romeo currently ranks #80 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.