Recco
A unisex name meaning "messenger" or "messenger of good news".
Name Census estimates that about 47 living Americans carry the first name Recco. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Recco today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Recco births was 1991 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Recco. 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 Recco. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
47
~ 1 in 7,292,645 Americans
Peak year
1991
9 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1991 SSA rank
#5,835
Tracked since 1972
Popularity
Recco: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Recco from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 21 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Recco remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Recco 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 Recco during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Recco
The name Recco is believed to have its origins in the Lombardic language, which was spoken in parts of northern Italy during the Middle Ages. It likely derives from the Germanic root "ric," meaning ruler or powerful, and the suffix "-co," which was a common ending for male names in that region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Recco can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Abbey of Cava in Campania, Italy. The name appears in a document dated around 1050 AD, referring to a landowner named Recco di Salerno.
In the 12th century, a Recco da Monza was mentioned as a prominent architect and engineer who worked on the construction of several churches and buildings in the city of Monza, near Milan. His contributions to the city's architectural heritage have been well-documented.
During the Renaissance period, a Recco Bresciani (1492-1576) was a notable painter from Brescia, famous for his religious works and frescoes adorning churches in northern Italy. His paintings can still be admired in various museums and galleries across the region.
In the 17th century, a Recco Melzi (1611-1679) was a prominent member of the Milanese nobility and a patron of the arts. He commissioned several works from renowned artists of his time and was instrumental in preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of Milan.
Another notable figure was Recco Martinengo (1765-1839), a military officer and diplomat from Brescia who served in the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte. He played a significant role in the Italian campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars and later served as an ambassador for the Kingdom of Italy.
While the name Recco was mostly concentrated in northern Italy during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it gradually spread to other regions over time. However, it has remained relatively uncommon compared to other Italian names, and its use has primarily been confined to certain areas of Italy.
People
Recco + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Recco as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Recco: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Recco?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 47 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Recco 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 7,292,645 US residents.
Is Recco a common name?
We classify Recco as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 50 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Recco most popular?
The single biggest year for Recco was 1991, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Recco is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Recco in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Recco a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Recco 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 Recco still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Recco 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 Recco 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Recco?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.