boy's name
Thiago
tee-AH-go
- Origin Portuguese
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 44,037
the United States
#50
2025 births
Thiago is a boy's name of Portuguese and Spanish origin, a form of James arrived at by splitting Santiago. The name Sant Iago, meaning Saint James, was reanalyzed as San Tiago, leaving Tiago and Thiago as independent names.
- Thiago is a name of Portuguese origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 5,840 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 568 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1986.
Thiago over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1980s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1980s | 36 |
| 1990s | 107 |
| 2000s | 620 |
| 2010s | 10,303 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 24,167 |
What Thiago means
Thiago means supplanter or holder of the heel, inherited from James and ultimately from the Hebrew Ya'aqov. Its meaning is entirely borrowed, since the name itself was produced by a misdivision rather than by any root word.
Where Thiago comes from
Thiago is a striking example of what linguists call rebracketing — a phrase resegmented at the wrong point. The Spanish and Portuguese for Saint James is Sant Iago or São Tiago; over time speakers heard the boundary in the wrong place, treating San Tiago as saint plus Tiago rather than saint plus Iago. Tiago therefore emerged as a name that had never previously existed, and the spelling Thiago became standard in Brazil. The underlying name is James, from the Latin Iacobus and the Hebrew Ya'aqov. The same process gave English an apron from a napron and a nickname from an ekename.
Thiago in use
Thiago exists because Spanish and Portuguese speakers divided Sant Iago in the wrong place — the same process that gave English "an apron" from "a napron".
How popular is Thiago?
In 2025, Thiago was given to 5,840 babies in the United States, ranking #50 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Thiago 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 Thiago is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Thïago | Thïago is a rare spelling of Thiago, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 40 times, mostly in France. | 40 |
Names that peaked alongside Thiago
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Thiago also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Thiago over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Thiago
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.
Thiago 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 Thiago
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Thiago — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Thiago
What does the name Thiago mean?
Thiago means "supplanter," inherited from James and ultimately the Hebrew Ya'aqov.
Where does the name Thiago come from?
From Santiago, meaning Saint James, resegmented as San Tiago — leaving Tiago as a name in its own right.
Is Thiago Brazilian?
The Th spelling is standard in Brazil, while Tiago is more common in Portugal.
How popular is the name Thiago?
In 2025, Thiago was given to 5,840 babies in the United States, ranking #50 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Thiago a girl's or a boy's name?
Thiago is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Thiago most popular?
Thiago peaked in 2025, when 5,840 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Thiago?
Thiago is usually shortened to Thi.
Is Thiago a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Thiago currently ranks #50 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.