Names of Brazil
Brazilian name meanings, with sources and IBGE census figures
Origin, meaning and spellings of 3,941 given names used in Brazil. Every meaning cites its source; every name shows how many people have it in the 2022 Census, when they were born and where they live.
Most common girl names
See all- Maria♀12,284,478 people
- Ana♀Grace, favor3,948,650 people
- Francisca♀Feminine of Franciscus, 'Frenchman', from the name of the Frankish…665,602 people
- Júlia♀Feminine form of Júlio, a Roman family name possibly linked to the…650,271 people
- Juliana♀Feminine of Juliano, 'relating to Julius'538,991 people
- Adriana♀Feminine of Adrian (Hadrianus), 'from Hadria'536,334 people
- Fernanda♀Feminine form of Fernando, from Gothic 'peace' (or 'journey') and…523,152 people
- Márcia♀Feminine of Latin Marcius, derived from Marcus, a name probably…522,265 people
Most common boy names
See all- José♂He will add5,164,752 people
- João♂God is gracious3,430,608 people
- Antônio♂2,241,094 people
- Francisco♂French1,665,494 people
- Pedro♂Stone1,624,478 people
- Carlos♂Man1,474,492 people
- Lucas♂Probably 'from Lucania', a shortened form of Loukanós1,341,525 people
- Luiz♂From the Germanic elements 'high, renowned' and 'battle'1,335,098 people
Most common among people born 2020 to 2022
See the listMost common names by decade
The names of people born in each period, according to the 2022 Census.
Most common names by state
The top first names in each state in the 2022 Census.
Names by meaning
All themesNames by origin
All originsNames A to Z
All namesGuides
All guides- Rules for Registering a Child's Name in Brazil
What Brazil's Public Records Law on a child's name: deadline, who declares, surnames, refused names, the 15-day objection window and changing a first name.
- Compound names and agnomes
Compound names like Maria Eduarda and agnomes like Filho, Júnior, Neto and Sobrinho: how they are registered and why IBGE counts only the first word.
- Accents and spellings of names
Why IBGE publishes names without accents, what Brazilian spelling rules say about personal names, and how spellings like Thaís and Taís are counted separately.
- How to read IBGE's data on names
What the 2022 Census numbers on each name page show: decade of birth, sex, median age, states, undisclosed data and the 2010 Census.
- Names of Tupi origin
Where Iara, Iracema, Ubirajara, Moacir, Jaci and Cauã come from: Old Tupi, José de Alencar's novels, and why their meanings are debated.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the meanings come from?
From sources we open and cite on each page: Wiktionary, the Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil, Behind the Name and dictionaries such as Michaelis and Priberam. 1,617 names have a sourced meaning; the others are published with the facts that exist, never with an invented meaning. See the methodology.
Where do the figures come from?
From IBGE's 2022 Demographic Census, which recorded each person's first name. We show how many people have each name, the decade they were born in, the share of women and men and the states where the name is most common. How to read the data.
What is the most common name in Brazil?
Maria, with 12,284,478 people in the 2022 Census, followed by José (5,164,752). See the 100 most common.
BrazilNames describes names, not people. A name's origin tells which language the word comes from, never the origin, religion or ethnicity of the people who use it.