Rubio
A Spanish masculine name derived from the word "rubio", meaning "blond".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Rubio. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rubio today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rubio births was 2012 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rubio. 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 Rubio with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rubio. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2012
5 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2012 SSA rank
#13,821
Tracked since 2012
Census
Rubio in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 320 people with the first name Rubio, which placed it at #28,183 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
#28,183
National first-name rank
People counted
320
320 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
88.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rubio
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rubio is Hispanic at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%). 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 Rubio 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 Rubio at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino88.1% · 282
- Black or African American4.1% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 13
- White3.1% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
- Two or more races0.3% · 1
Popularity
Rubio: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Rubio 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 Rubio during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Rubio
The given name Rubio has its origins in the Latin language and can be traced back to ancient Rome. The name is derived from the Latin word "rubius," meaning "red" or "reddish," likely referring to the color of a person's hair or complexion.
In the early days of Rome, the name Rubio was often used as a nickname or cognomen to distinguish individuals with reddish features. It was not uncommon for Romans to adopt such descriptive names based on physical characteristics or personal traits.
While there are no specific references to the name Rubio in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is believed to have been in use during the Roman Empire, particularly among the lower social classes and commoners.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Rubio can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who mentioned a soldier named Rubio serving in the Roman legions during the 1st century AD.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rubio. In the 13th century, Rubio Gundisalvus was a renowned Spanish philosopher and translator who played a significant role in introducing Aristotelian and Arabic works to Europe.
During the Renaissance period, Rubio Bernardino was an Italian painter and architect active in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, known for his contributions to the design of several churches and palaces in Siena and Florence.
In the 18th century, Rubio Martínez was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the Philippines from 1768 to 1770.
More recently, in the 19th century, Rubio Albañil was a Spanish sculptor and artist known for his intricate wood carvings and religious statues, many of which can be found in churches across Spain.
Another notable figure was Rubio Sacristán, a 20th-century Spanish writer and poet who gained recognition for his works exploring themes of social justice and the struggles of the working class.
While the name Rubio has its roots in Latin and was prevalent in ancient Rome, it has continued to be used across various cultures and regions over the centuries, particularly in Spanish-speaking countries.
People
Rubio + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rubio 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
Rubio: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rubio?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rubio 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Rubio a common name?
We classify Rubio as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rubio most popular?
The single biggest year for Rubio was 2012, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rubio is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rubio in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 320 people with the name Rubio, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,183 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 Rubio 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 Rubio?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rubio leans strongly male. 290 people counted with this name were male (89.8%), compared with 33 female bearers (10.2%). 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 Rubio?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rubio is Hispanic at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%). 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 Rubio most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Rubio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (282 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 Rubio in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rubio a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rubio 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 Rubio still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rubio 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 Rubio 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 are called Rubio?
You can see how many people have the name Rubio on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.