Argelio
A Spanish masculine name indicating brightness or brilliance.
Name Census estimates that about 97 living Americans carry the first name Argelio. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Argelio today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Argelio births was 1977 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Argelio. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Argelio. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
97
~ 1 in 3,533,550 Americans
Peak year
1977
8 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2013 SSA rank
#9,723
Tracked since 1973
Census
Argelio in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 589 people with the first name Argelio, which placed it at #18,321 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#18,321
National first-name rank
People counted
589
589 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
98.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Argelio
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Argelio is Hispanic at 98.5%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Black (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Argelio described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Argelio at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino98.5% · 580
- White0.8% · 5
- Black or African American0.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Argelio: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Argelio from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 38 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Argelio by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Argelio during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Argelios live
Origin
Meaning and history of Argelio
The name Argelio has its origins in the Romance languages, derived from the Latin name Argelius. This name likely emerged during the medieval period in regions such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
Argelius itself can be traced back to the ancient Greek word "argeios," meaning "bright" or "shining." It's possible that the name was initially used as a nickname or a descriptive term for someone with a radiant or luminous appearance.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Argelio can be found in historical records from the 13th century, referring to a Spanish nobleman named Argelio de Castilla, who lived between 1220 and 1287. He was a prominent figure during the reign of King Alfonso X of Castile.
In the 15th century, an Italian scholar and philosopher named Argelio Loschi (1375-1441) gained recognition for his writings on classical literature and his contributions to the Renaissance movement. He was born in Vicenza and spent most of his life in the service of the Venetian Republic.
Another notable bearer of the name was Argelio Ramírez (1597-1670), a Spanish painter and sculptor active during the Baroque period. He was known for his religious artworks and sculptures that adorned churches and cathedrals across Spain.
In the 19th century, Argelio Díaz Herrera (1818-1892) was a Venezuelan military officer and politician who played a significant role in the country's struggles for independence. He served as the President of Venezuela from 1864 to 1868.
A more recent example is Argelio García (1942-2020), a Cuban-American artist and sculptor renowned for his abstract and minimalist works. He was part of the Miami art scene and had several exhibitions showcasing his sculptures and paintings.
The name Argelio, while not as common as some other names, has a rich historical lineage and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including nobles, scholars, artists, and political figures.
People
Argelio + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Argelio as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Argelio: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Argelio?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 97 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Argelio going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,533,550 US residents.
Is Argelio a common name?
We classify Argelio as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 101 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Argelio most popular?
The single biggest year for Argelio was 1977, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Argelio is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Argelio in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 589 people with the name Argelio, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,321 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Argelio in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Argelio?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Argelio appears almost entirely male. Of the 597 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Argelio?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Argelio is Hispanic at 98.5%. The next largest groups are White (0.8%) and Black (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Argelio most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Argelio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.5% (580 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Argelio in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Argelio a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Argelio in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Argelio still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Argelio in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Argelio can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Argelio?
Want to know how many people share the name Argelio? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.