Fidel
A masculine name of Latin origin meaning "faithful" or "loyal".
Name Census estimates that about 8,836 living Americans carry the first name Fidel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Fidel today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fidel births was 2001 (195 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fidel. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Fidel with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
8.8K
~ 1 in 38,791 Americans
Peak year
2001
195 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,937
Tracked since 1892
Census
Fidel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 21,412 people with the first name Fidel, which placed it at #1,537 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
#1,537
National first-name rank
People counted
21K
21,412 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
7.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
93.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fidel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fidel is Hispanic at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Black (2.0%). 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 Fidel 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 Fidel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.3% · 19,987
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 560
- Black or African American2.0% · 429
- White1.5% · 319
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 61
- Two or more races0.3% · 56
Popularity
Fidel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fidel from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,715 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
Fidel 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 Fidel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fidels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, California, New Mexico recorded the most babies named Fidel, while Wisconsin, Virginia, Utah recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 544 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fidel
The name Fidel is derived from the Latin word "fidelis," which means "faithful" or "loyal." This name has its roots in ancient Roman culture and was initially used to describe individuals who exhibited unwavering loyalty and faithfulness.
During the early Christian era, the name Fidel gained religious significance as it was associated with the concept of faith and devotion to God. It was commonly given to individuals who demonstrated a strong commitment to their religious beliefs and practices.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Fidel can be found in the writings of St. Jerome, a 4th-century Christian scholar and theologian. He mentioned a certain Fidelis, a Roman martyr who was killed for his faith in the year 287 AD.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Fidel remained popular among Christian communities, particularly in regions with strong Catholic influence, such as Spain, Portugal, and parts of Italy. It was often given to individuals who were considered pious and devoted to their faith.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Fidel of Sigmaringen, also known as St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577-1622), was a Capuchin friar and martyr who worked tirelessly to promote the Catholic faith in Switzerland and other parts of Europe. He was eventually killed by Protestant radicals, and his steadfast commitment to his beliefs earned him recognition as a saint in the Catholic Church.
Another prominent historical figure with the name Fidel was Fidel Ángel Castro Ruz (1926-2016), the revolutionary leader of Cuba who played a pivotal role in overthrowing the authoritarian regime of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Castro's unwavering dedication to his revolutionary ideals and his staunch opposition to American imperialism made him a polarizing figure on the global stage.
In the realm of literature, Fidel is the name of a character in Gabriel García Márquez's famous novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude." This character, known for his loyalty and devotion to the Buendía family, serves as a symbolic representation of the enduring values associated with the name.
Other notable individuals named Fidel include Fidel Velázquez (1900-1997), a Mexican union leader and political figure who wielded significant influence in shaping the country's labor policies, and Fidel Götz (1806-1869), a German composer and organist known for his contributions to sacred music.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Fidel
People
Fidel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fidel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fidel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fidel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,836 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fidel 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 38,791 US residents.
Is Fidel a common name?
We classify Fidel as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,235 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fidel most popular?
The single biggest year for Fidel was 2001, when 195 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fidel is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fidel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 21,412 people with the name Fidel, or 7.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,537 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 Fidel 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 Fidel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fidel appears almost entirely male. Of the 21,420 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Fidel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fidel is Hispanic at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Black (2.0%). 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 Fidel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Fidel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (19,987 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 Fidel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fidel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fidel 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 Fidel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fidel 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 Fidel 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 have the name Fidel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.