Vasco
A masculine given name originating from the medieval Latin name Vasco meaning "Basque person".
Name Census estimates that about 258 living Americans carry the first name Vasco. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vasco today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vasco births was 1916 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vasco. 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
258
~ 1 in 1,328,505 Americans
Peak year
1916
18 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,855
Tracked since 1910
Popularity
Vasco: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vasco from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 95 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Vasco remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vasco 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 Vasco during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vascos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Vasco
The given name Vasco has its origins in the Iberian Peninsula, tracing back to the medieval Basque language. It is derived from the Basque word "bask," which means "Basque people." This name emerged during the Middle Ages when the Basque region, located in northern Spain and southwestern France, had a distinct cultural identity.
The name Vasco gained prominence in the 15th century with the renowned Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. Born in 1460 or 1469 in Sines, Portugal, Vasco da Gama was the first European to reach India by sea, establishing a maritime route from Europe to the Indian subcontinent. His historic voyage in 1498 paved the way for the Portuguese Age of Discovery and the subsequent colonization of parts of Asia.
Another notable figure with the name Vasco was Vasco Núñez de Balboa, a Spanish explorer and conquistador. Born in 1475 in Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain, Balboa is famous for being the first European to cross the Isthmus of Panama and discover the Pacific Ocean in 1513, which he initially called the "South Sea."
In the realm of art, Vasco Fernandes, also known as Grão Vasco, was a prominent Portuguese Renaissance painter. Born around 1475 in Viseu, Portugal, he is renowned for his altarpieces and religious paintings, which are considered among the finest examples of Portuguese art from the 16th century.
Vasco de Quiroga, born in 1470 in Madrigal de las Altas Torres, Spain, was a Spanish bishop and the first bishop of Michoacán, Mexico. He played a significant role in the evangelization and protection of indigenous peoples in New Spain (colonial Mexico) and established the first European-style hospitals and schools in the region.
The name Vasco also appeared in literary works, such as the novel "The Lusiads" by the celebrated Portuguese poet Luís de Camões, published in 1572. In this epic poem, Vasco da Gama is portrayed as the central figure, celebrating his voyage to India and the Portuguese maritime explorations.
While the name Vasco has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula, it has been adopted in various cultures and languages over time, particularly in Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries, reflecting the historical influence of the Iberian explorers and conquistadors.
People
Vasco + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vasco as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vasco: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vasco?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 258 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vasco 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 1,328,505 US residents.
Is Vasco a common name?
We classify Vasco as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 508 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vasco most popular?
The single biggest year for Vasco was 1916, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vasco is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vasco a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vasco 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.