boy's name
Santino
san-TEE-no
- Origin Italian
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 15,972
the United States
#353
2025 births
Santino is a boy's name of Italian origin meaning "little saint". It is a diminutive of Santo, from the Latin sanctus, holy, and its English-language use owes a great deal to Sonny Corleone in The Godfather.
- Santino is a name of Italian origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 934 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,550 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1913.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Santino over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 25 |
| 1920s | 68 |
| 1930s | 11 |
| 1950s | 5 |
| 1960s | 19 |
| 1970s | 367 |
| 1980s | 554 |
| 1990s | 965 |
| 2000s | 2,524 |
| 2010s | 4,395 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,691 |
What Santino means
Santino means little saint or little holy one. The diminutive ending is affectionate rather than diminishing, which is how most Italian names in -ino work.
Where Santino comes from
Santino is the Italian diminutive of Santo, from the Latin sanctus, consecrated or holy — the same root as the English saint. Italian naming has long used saint-words directly, with Santo, Santina and Santina all in ordinary use, particularly in the south. The name reached English-language awareness through Santino Corleone, the eldest son in Mario Puzo's The Godfather and the 1972 film, universally called Sonny — which is why many English speakers know the full name only from the credits. It appears in our records from 1913 and reached its highest use in 2025.
Santino in use
Santino charts in only four of the seven countries we track and reached its highest recorded use in 2025.
How popular is Santino?
In 2025, Santino was given to 934 babies in the United States, ranking #353 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Santino 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 Santino
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Santino also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Santino over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Santino
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.
Santino 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 Santino
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Santino — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Santino
What does the name Santino mean?
Little saint, from the Italian Santo and the Latin sanctus, holy.
Is Santino from The Godfather?
English-language familiarity owes a great deal to Santino Corleone, though the name is an ordinary Italian one, especially in the south.
What is short for Santino?
Santi and Tino in Italian; Sonny in English, following the film.
How popular is the name Santino?
In 2025, Santino was given to 934 babies in the United States, ranking #353 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Santino a girl's or a boy's name?
Santino is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Santino?
Santino has 3 syllables.
When was Santino most popular?
Santino peaked in 2025, when 934 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Santino?
Santino is usually shortened to Santi, Tino and Sonny.
Is Santino a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Santino currently ranks #353 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.