Polo
A masculine name derived from the Italian city of Venice.
Name Census estimates that about 495 living Americans carry the first name Polo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Polo today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Polo births was 2001 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Polo. 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
495
~ 1 in 692,433 Americans
Peak year
2001
21 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,144
Tracked since 1917
Popularity
Polo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Polo from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 121 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Polo remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Polo 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 Polo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Polos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Polo
The given name Polo is believed to have originated from the Italian language, derived from the Latin word "paulus," meaning "small" or "little." The name gained prominence during the medieval period, particularly in Italy and other parts of Europe.
One of the earliest and most famous historical references to the name Polo is associated with the Venetian merchant and explorer Marco Polo, who lived from 1254 to 1324. Marco Polo's travels to Asia and his detailed accounts of his journeys through the Silk Road and the Mongol Empire brought the name to wider recognition.
Another notable figure bearing the name Polo was Marco Polo's uncle, also named Marco Polo, who accompanied his nephew on the famous travels to China and other parts of Asia in the 13th century. This older Marco Polo, born around 1235, played a crucial role in facilitating his nephew's expeditions and contributing to the family's legacy as merchants and explorers.
In the realm of literature, Polo is the name of a character in William Shakespeare's play "The Merchant of Venice," which was written around 1598. While the character's full name is not explicitly mentioned, he is referred to as Polo, and his presence in one of Shakespeare's most celebrated works further solidified the name's recognition.
During the Renaissance period, Polo became a relatively common name among Italian families, particularly in Venice and other northern Italian regions. One notable figure from this era was the Italian sculptor Polo Calvi, who lived from around 1530 to 1584 and is known for his works in marble and bronze.
In the 19th century, the name Polo gained popularity in Latin American countries, particularly in Brazil. One prominent Brazilian figure with the name was Polo Renato de Araújo Marques, a politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil from 1856 to 1857.
Throughout history, the name Polo has been associated with exploration, adventure, and artistic expression, reflecting its origins and the legacy of its most famous bearers. While not as widely used as in the past, the name continues to carry a sense of cultural significance and historical resonance.
People
Polo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Polo 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
Polo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Polo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 495 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Polo 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 692,433 US residents.
Is Polo a common name?
We classify Polo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 589 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Polo most popular?
The single biggest year for Polo was 2001, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Polo is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Polo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Polo 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.
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.