Diego

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Dïëgö in EC Ecuador, Díego in AR Argentina, Диего in RU Russia and Diëgo in NL Netherlands.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 5 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Diego is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name1.0M records spelled Diego57 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France

  Languages: English, French, Dutch

  Also written Diégo, Diëgo, Diègo, Diêgo, Diego Marin

• a separate name38K records spelled Diego7 spellings in the group

  Also written Diegó, Diègo, Diëgo, Díego, Diégo

• Lao given name27K records spelled Diego56 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, Thailand

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written 'Diego, Díégó, ดิเอโก้, ดิเอโก, ดีเอโก้

• Malay name8.4K records spelled Diego7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Malaysia, Indonesia

  Languages: Malay, Indonesian

  Also written Diégo, Diëgo, Dïëgö, Díégó, Diêgo

83 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Diego is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Spanish form related to Santiago; ultimately from Latin Iacobus

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• Origin uncertain; perhaps from SANTIAGO (literally ‘Saint James’) or from a 283 native Iberian name found in Latin as Didacus.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In Italian, Nome di un santo spagnolo; reso in latino come Didacus o Didicius, forse per traduzione arbitraria.

  as a name·Dizionario Dei Nomi e Cognomi Italiani

• In Swedish, Diego, som är ett vanligt namn i spansktalande länder, anses av senare forskning vara en utveckling av det förromerska mansnamnet Didacus (belagt i det medeltida Spanien) via formen Diago. Den tidigare uppfattningen att namnet skulle vara en form av Iago (→ Jakob) har ifrågasatts. En känd namnbärare är den argentinske fotbollsspelaren Diego Maradona (1960–2020).

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

• In Italian, Nome di un Santo spagnuolo, m. 1463; 13 novembre. È tradotto in latino Didacus o Diduciua; ma forse l& traduzione è arbitraria.

  as a name·Nomi e Cognomi: Saggio di ricerche etimologiche e storiche

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

EC INEC — Visualizador de Nombres y Apellidos, per-token query API (1900–2024) — 121 years between 1903–2024. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Diego Velázquezb. 1599ESSpanish painter (1599–1660)
• Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Crispín Crispiniano de la Santissima Trinidad Ruiz Blasco Picassob. 1881ESSpanish painter and sculptor (1881–1973)
• Diego Riverab. 1886MXMexican muralist (1886–1957)
• Diego Fabbrib. 1911ITItalian writer (1911-1980)
• Diego Maradonab. 1960ARArgentine football player and manager (1960–2020)
• Diego Forlánb. 1979UYUruguayan association football player and manager (born 1979)
• Diego Militob. 1979ARArgentine football player (1979-)
• Diego Luganob. 1980UYUruguayan footballer
• Diego Godínb. 1986UYUruguayan association football player (born 1986)
• Diego Costab. 1988BRBrazilian association football player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,332 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Diego?

We estimate roughly 825 thousand people bear Diego (counting its spellings and scripts) across 14 countries in our records.

In which country does Diego have the most bearers?

We estimate about 403 thousand people bear Diego in Brazil, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled diego.

Where is Diego most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Diego is densest in Ecuador — about 1 in 174 people — even though Brazil holds more of our records for it.

What does the name Diego mean?

Recorded meaning: from Diet-, i.e. Germanic 'people'; also used for Jacob