Argentina
A feminine name of Spanish origin meaning "the silvery one".
Name Census estimates that about 274 living Americans carry the first name Argentina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Argentina today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Argentina births was 1925 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Argentina. 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.
People living today
274
~ 1 in 1,250,928 Americans
Peak year
1925
16 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2017 SSA rank
#16,147
Tracked since 1913
Census
Argentina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,924 people with the first name Argentina, which placed it at #7,773 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
#7,773
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,924 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
88.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Argentina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Argentina is Hispanic at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and White (4.9%). 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 Argentina 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 Argentina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino88.0% · 1,693
- Black or African American5.2% · 101
- White4.9% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 25
- Two or more races0.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Popularity
Argentina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Argentina from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 82 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Argentina 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 Argentina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Argentinas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Argentina
The name Argentina is derived from the Latin word "argentum," which means silver. It is believed to have originated in ancient Rome, where silver was mined and valued for its beauty and rarity. The name was likely given to individuals born with silver-colored hair or those associated with the silver trade.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Argentina can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who lived in the first century BC. He mentions a woman named Argentina who was a prominent figure in Roman society at the time. However, details about her life and accomplishments are scarce.
In the Middle Ages, the name Argentina gained popularity among the nobility and upper classes, who often used it to signify wealth and status. One notable bearer of the name was Argentina of Foligno, an Italian mystic and Franciscan tertiary who lived in the 13th century. She is known for her spiritual writings and her devotion to the suffering of Christ.
During the Renaissance period, the name Argentina was associated with the arts and literature. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Argentina Pallavicino, an Italian poet and writer who lived in the 16th century. She was celebrated for her eloquence and her contributions to the literary culture of the time.
In the 19th century, the name Argentina gained popularity in South America, particularly in Argentina, the country named after the Latin word "argentum" due to its rich silver mines. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Argentina Codazzi, a Venezuelan scientist and explorer who played a significant role in mapping and studying the geography of Venezuela in the early 19th century.
Another famous bearer of the name was Argentina Menis, an Italian opera singer who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was renowned for her powerful voice and her performances in various operas across Europe.
While the name Argentina is not as common today as it once was, it remains a unique and evocative name with a rich history spanning from ancient Rome to the modern era.
People
Argentina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Argentina 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
Argentina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Argentina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 274 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Argentina 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 1,250,928 US residents.
Is Argentina a common name?
We classify Argentina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 442 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Argentina most popular?
The single biggest year for Argentina was 1925, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Argentina is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Argentina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,924 people with the name Argentina, or 0.64 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,773 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 Argentina 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 Argentina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Argentina leans strongly female. 1,889 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 31 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Argentina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Argentina is Hispanic at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and White (4.9%). 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 Argentina most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Argentina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (1,693 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 Argentina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Argentina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Argentina in the SSA data are female. 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 Argentina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Argentina 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 Argentina 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 people are called Argentina?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Argentina at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.