Pio
Derived from Italian, meaning "pious, reverent, or devout."
Name Census estimates that about 235 living Americans carry the first name Pio. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Pio today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pio births was 2020 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pio. 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 Pio with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
235
~ 1 in 1,458,529 Americans
Peak year
2020
16 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,125
Tracked since 1916
Census
Pio in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 955 people with the first name Pio, which placed it at #12,842 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
#12,842
National first-name rank
People counted
955
955 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
42.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pio
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pio is Hispanic at 42.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.9%) and White (18.0%). 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 Pio 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 Pio at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino42.2% · 403
- Asian and Pacific Islander37.9% · 362
- White18.0% · 172
- Black or African American1.2% · 11
- Two or more races0.6% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Pio: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pio from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 72 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pio 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 Pio during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pios live
Origin
Meaning and history of Pio
The name Pio has its origins in the Latin language and culture, dating back to ancient Roman times. It is derived from the Latin word "pius," which means "pious," "devout," or "dutiful." This suggests that the name was initially given to individuals who were deeply religious or demonstrated a strong sense of devotion to their faith or duty.
In early Christianity, the name Pio gained significant prominence. One of the earliest and most notable individuals with this name was Pope Pius I, who served as the Bishop of Rome from around 140 to 155 AD. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, and his name has been borne by many subsequent popes throughout history.
During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the name Pio continued to be used in various parts of Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain. It was often associated with individuals who had a strong religious or spiritual inclination, or who held positions of authority within the Church.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Pio was Pio Nono, better known as Pope Pius IX, who reigned from 1846 to 1878. He is notable for defining the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and for convening the First Vatican Council. Another prominent individual was Pio da Pietrelcina, also known as Padre Pio, a Capuchin friar and mystic who lived from 1887 to 1968 and is revered for his spiritual gifts and miraculous healings.
In the realm of literature, Pio Baroja (1872-1956) was a renowned Spanish novelist and essayist, known for his works that explored the social and political issues of his time. Additionally, Pio Pico (1801-1894) was a prominent Mexican-American politician and the last governor of Mexican California before it became a part of the United States.
The name Pio has also been used in various other cultures and languages, sometimes with slightly different spellings or pronunciations. For example, in Polish, the name is spelled as "Pius," while in Italian, it is commonly written as "Pio." However, the underlying meaning and connotations of the name remain consistent across these variations.
Overall, the name Pio has a rich historical and cultural significance, deeply rooted in religious and spiritual traditions. It has been borne by notable figures throughout history, from religious leaders and saints to writers and politicians, reflecting the diverse ways in which this name has been embraced and celebrated across different societies and eras.
People
Pio + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pio as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pio: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pio?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 235 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pio 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 1,458,529 US residents.
Is Pio a common name?
We classify Pio as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 333 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pio most popular?
The single biggest year for Pio was 2020, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pio is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pio in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 955 people with the name Pio, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,842 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 Pio 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 Pio?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pio leans strongly male. 935 people counted with this name were male (98.2%), compared with 17 female bearers (1.8%). 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 Pio?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pio is Hispanic at 42.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.9%) and White (18.0%). 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 Pio most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Pio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.2% (403 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 Pio in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pio a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pio 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 Pio still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pio 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 Pio 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 common is the name Pio?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.