The name Renato is derived from the Latin name Renatus, meaning "reborn" or "born again." It is a masculine given name that originated in Italy during the Middle Ages.

Renato can be traced back to the Late Latin word "renatus," which was formed by combining the prefix "re-" (meaning "again") and the verb "natus" (meaning "born"). This name was likely given to children who were born after a difficult or life-threatening birth, symbolizing their rebirth or second chance at life.

In the 14th century, Renato became a popular name in Italy, particularly among the nobility and upper classes. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name was in reference to Renato d'Angiò (1409-1480), a member of the House of Valois-Anjou and the King of Naples from 1435 to 1442.

During the Renaissance period, the name gained further popularity due to its association with the humanist movement and the revival of classical literature and culture. Notable figures bearing the name Renato include Renato Raffaello (1550-1620), an Italian composer and music theorist, and Renato da Venezia (1443-1498), an Italian mathematician and astronomer.

In the 17th century, the name was adopted in Spain and Portugal, where it was sometimes spelled as "Renato" or "Reynato." One of the most famous individuals with this name was Renato Descartes (1596-1650), the French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist who is often regarded as the father of modern philosophy.

Other notable individuals with the name Renato include Renato Guttuso (1912-1987), an Italian painter and sculptor associated with the social realist movement, and Renato Curcio (born 1941), an Italian far-left militant and co-founder of the Red Brigades terrorist group.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the name Renato maintained its popularity in Italy and other parts of Europe, as well as in Latin American countries with strong Italian cultural influences. Renato Dulbecco (1914-2012) was an Italian-American virologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1975, and Renato Russo (1960-1996) was a Brazilian singer-songwriter and composer, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Brazilian rock music.