Diego
Meaning of Diego
Diego is a Spanish boy's name of uncertain origin. It is often explained as a form of Santiago, Spanish for Saint James, though its Latin form, Didacus, has also been linked to a Greek word for teaching. In Spanish it is pronounced dee-AY-go, and English speakers say it much the same way.
Two celebrated artists bore the name: Diego Velázquez, court painter to King Philip IV of Spain, and Diego Rivera, whose frescoes helped establish the Mexican mural movement. The California city of San Diego is named after Saint Diego of Alcalá, a 15th-century Spanish friar.
In the United States, Diego climbed from 628th in 1980 to its peak of 56th in 2006. It has slipped since then and ranked 158th in 2025, when 2,351 babies were given the name.
Pronunciation
Spanish
- Pronunced as dee-AY-go (/diˈeɣo/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Diego
| Diego Maradona was an Argentine footballer and manager, widely hailed as one of the greatest and a joint winner of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century alongside Pele. |
| Diego Costa - Diego da Silva Costa is a professional football striker. |
| Diego Velázquez - Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez was a Spanish Golden Age painter, the leading court artist to King Philip IV and one of Western art's greatest masters. |
| Diego Ribas da Cunha, known as Diego, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. |
| Diego Sebastian Schwartzman is an Argentine former tennis pro who reached world number 8 in 2020, won four ATP singles titles, and excelled as a clay court returner. |
| Diego Hernan Valeri is a retired Argentine attacking midfielder. |
| Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter whose monumental frescoes helped establish the modern mural movement in Mexico and beyond. |
| Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander is a Mexican actor director and producer best known as Cassian Andor in Rogue One and the Disney Plus series Andor, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama. |
| Diego de Almagro was a Spanish conquistador who joined Pizarro in conquering Peru, helped found Quito and Trujillo as Spanish cities, led the first expedition to Chile, and was defeated at Las Salinas and executed in 1538 after a civil war over Cuzco. |
| Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar - A Spanish conquistador and first governor of Cuba, Diego Velazquez de Cuellar led the 1511 conquest of the island, founded key towns, made it a trade hub, and launched expeditions that paved the way for the conquest of the Aztec Empire. |
| Mexican footballer Diego Lainez Leyva is a winger for Tigres UANL and the Mexico national team. |
| Diego Fagúndez - Diego Santiago Fagundez Pepe is a Uruguayan attacking midfielder for MLS club LA Galaxy. |
| Diego Portales was a Chilean statesman and entrepreneur who, as a dominant minister in the 1830s, helped enact the 1833 Constitution and shaped Chile into a centralized conservative republic. |
| Diego Boneta is a Mexican actor, producer, and singer best known for Rock of Ages, the Netflix series about Luis Miguel, and the films Father of the Bride and At Midnight. |
