How popular is the baby name Cono in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Cono.

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Popularity of the baby name Cono


Posts that mention the name Cono

Popular and unique baby names in Uruguay, 2021

Flag of Uruguay
Flag of Uruguay

The country of Uruguay, located in the southern region of South America, shares land borders with Argentina and Brazil.

According to Uruguay’s Dirección Nacional de Identificación Civil (DNIC), the most popular baby names in the country in 2021 were María and Juan.

Uruguay’s baby name rankings consist of girl and boy names mixed together on a single list. The data mostly represents first-name usage, but does include some second-name usage as well. (This is because the rankings are created from Uruguayan identity card data, and Uruguayans are permitted to add up to two given names to their ID cards.)

That said, here are Uruguay’s top 100+ baby names of 2021:

  1. María, 1,260 babies
    • María was used 858 times as a first name and 402 times as a second name.
  2. Juan, 1,023
    • Juan was used 980 times as a first name and 43 times as a second name.
  3. Benjamín, 925
  4. Maria, 889
  5. Isabella, 798
  6. Mateo, 778
  7. Valentina, 725
  8. Emma, 722
  9. Martina, 706
  10. Catalina, 658
  11. Julieta, 644
  12. Felipe, 631
  13. Sofía, 624
  14. Valentín, 615
  15. Ezequiel, 561
  16. Nicolás, 541
  17. Lorenzo, 535
  18. Emilia, 513
  19. Agustín, 487 (tie)
  20. Bautista, 487 (tie)
  21. Belén, 477
  22. Daniel, 459
  23. Manuel, 450
  24. Alejandro, 433
  25. Santiago, 429
  26. Francisco, 426
  27. Delfina, 422
  28. Lautaro, 421 (tie)
  29. Agustina, 421 (tie)
  30. Santino, 419
  31. Carlos, 417
  32. Lucas, 413
  33. Valentino, 411
  34. Dante, 407
  35. Josefina, 393
  36. Luis, 392
  37. Ignacio, 389 (tie)
  38. Gabriel, 389 (tie)
  39. Joaquín, 385
  40. Olivia, 380
  41. José, 374
  42. Thiago, 359
  43. Emiliano, 352
  44. Gael, 343
  45. Victoria, 341
  46. Francesca, 325
  47. Alberto, 324
  48. Tomás, 318
  49. Sebastián, 315
  50. Renata, 312
  51. David, 308
  52. Jose, 302
  53. Martín, 301
  54. Zoe, 296
  55. Bastian, 290
  56. Samuel, 288
  57. Milagros, 286
  58. Eduardo, 284
  59. Pilar, 280 (tie)
  60. Paulina, 280 (tie)
  61. Bruno, 278
  62. Alexander, 275 (tie)
  63. Ana, 275 (tie)
  64. Clara, 271
  65. Facundo, 267
  66. Emily, 261 (tie)
  67. Pedro, 261 (tie)
  68. Benjamin, 259
  69. Antonio, 257 (tie)
  70. Alfonsina, 257 (tie)
  71. Guadalupe, 255
  72. Sofia, 254 (tie)
  73. Vicente, 254 (tie)
  74. Pablo, 254 (tie)
  75. Federico, 253
  76. Emanuel, 251
  77. Diego, 249
  78. Jorge, 240
  79. Javier, 239
  80. Salvador, 235
  81. Rafael, 230
  82. Fernando, 229
  83. Nahuel, 228
  84. Jazmín, 226
  85. Luciano, 223
  86. Liam, 222
  87. Paz, 218
  88. Camila, 217
  89. Maite, 216
  90. Andrés, 207
  91. Ismael, 206 (tie)
  92. Miguel, 206 (tie)
  93. Alma, 205
  94. Noah, 204
  95. Mía, 203
  96. Lucía, 202 (tie)
  97. Benicio, 202 (tie)
  98. Mia, 201
  99. Franco, 198
  100. Nicolas, 195
  101. Bianca, 194
  102. Isabel, 193
  103. Juana, 191
  104. Camilo, 190
  105. Tadeo, 188
  106. Enzo, 187
  107. Guillermo, 186
  108. Cataleya, 183
  109. Alejandra, 181 (tie)
  110. Sebastian, 181 (tie)
  111. Florencia, 179
  112. Carolina, 175
  113. Enrique, 172
  114. Ramiro, 171
  115. Alfonso, 167
  116. Faustino, 166
  117. Ámbar, 164 (4-way tie)
  118. Beatriz, 164 (4-way tie)
  119. Logan, 164 (4-way tie)
  120. Marcelo, 164 (4-way tie)
  121. Matías, 161 (tie)
  122. Ciro, 161 (tie)
  123. Aitana, 160 (tie)
  124. Antonella, 160 (tie)
  125. Angel, 159 (tie)
  126. Nahitan, 159 (tie)
  127. Nicole, 158
  128. Andrea, 156 (tie)
  129. Elena, 156 (tie)

(I went down this far to ensure that at least fifty girl names were included.)

Here are a few names from lower down on the list:

  • 16 babies were named Tabaré, which was the name of former Uruguayan president Tabaré Vázquez (who died in December of 2020).
    • Tabaré was given to just 2 babies the year before.
  • 6 were named Atahualpa, which was the name of the last emperor of the Inca.
    • Atahualpa was given to just one baby the year before.
  • 2 were named Cono, perhaps after St. Cono of Italy.
  • 2 were named Giorgian, which is the first name of Uruguayan soccer player Giorgian de Arrascaeta.
  • 2 were named Pampa, which may refer to the Pampas — the grasslands of South America.
    • The Spanish word pampa comes directly from the Quechua word pampa, meaning “plain, field.”

And, because Uruguay releases all of its baby name data, we can also check out the unique names at the other end of the spectrum. Here’s a selection Uruguay’s single-use baby names of 2021:

Aitziber, Berzaline, Carbonell, Danisel, Evtimova, Fradixon, Gilbeth, Hinayana, Itanu, Joxibel, Kundlik, Lothar, Mactominei, Neybis, Orientina, Pandugula, Quimey, Rillary, Sizzle, Tilottama, Toruk, Unelma, Venexia, Wilfreddy, Xunmira, Yulipza, Zombul

Some possible explanations/associations:

  • Lothar – German soccer player Lothar Matthäus
  • Mactominei – English soccer player Scott McTominay
  • Orientina – the word orientales (“easterners”) is sometimes used to refer to Uruguayans
    • The country’s official name is La República Oriental del Uruguay.
  • Tilottama – an apsara in Hindu mythology
  • Toruk – a flying creature in the movie Avatar

In 2020, the top names in Uruguay were Emma and Juan. (Emma managed to beat María/Maria only because Uruguay counts the accented and unaccented forms of names separately in the rankings.)

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Uruguay (public domain)

Where did the baby name Cono come from in the early 1900s?

Statue of San Cono (Saint Conus)
San Cono

Today (June 3rd) is the feast day of San Cono, patron saint of the Italian town of Teggiano.

Legend has it that the medieval saint was born with a cone-shaped head, so his pious parents, seeing this as a divine sign, decided to named him Cono, Italian for “cone.”

The baby name Cono is traditional in Teggiano, but rare in other parts of Italy. It was brought to the U.S. in the late 1800s via Teggianese immigrants, most of whom who settled in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.

These days, Cono isn’t popular enough to register in the U.S. baby name data (which accounts for names given to at least five U.S. babies of one gender or the other, per year). But it appeared in the data regularly back in the 1920s:

  • 1932: unlisted
  • 1931: 6 baby boys named Cono, all 6 born in New York
  • 1930: 6 baby boys named Cono
  • 1929: unlisted
  • 1928: 5 baby boys named Cono
  • 1927: 5 baby boys named Cono
  • 1926: 5 baby boys named Cono, all 5 born in New York
  • 1925: 11 baby boys named Cono, 6 born in New York
  • 1924: 7 baby boys named Cono, 5 born in New York
  • 1923: 11 baby boys named Cono, 8 born in New York
  • 1922: 12 baby boys named Cono, 10 born in New York
  • 1921: 8 baby boys named Cono, all 8 born in New York
  • 1920: 14 baby boys named Cono, 13 born in New York
  • 1919: unlisted
  • 1918: 8 baby boys named Cono, 5 born in New York
  • 1917: 6 baby boys named Cono
  • 1916: 11 baby boys named Cono, 9 born in New York [debut]
  • 1915: unlisted
Usage of the baby name Cono in the U.S. since 1880.
Usage of the baby name Cono

According to a 1998 Wall Street Journal article specifically about the Conos of Williamsburg, “there might be more men named Cono in Williamsburg than in any other place on earth, outside Italy.” And even more than that if you count middle names and confirmation names.

In Williamsburg “there are delis, pizzerias and restaurants with Cono in their names. There’s a Cono club, located in an old synagogue on Ainslie Street, the heart of the neighborhood’s Cono population, and a Cono festival each fall.” Plus a feast day parade every June, of course.

One big drawback to having such a locally common name? Confusion:

Over the years, the Conos have come up with ways to differentiate themselves: An elderly Cono would be called “Conucio,” (pronounced co-NOOCH-ee-o). A youthful Cono is affectionately called “Conocino” (co-noo-CHI-no), or little Cono, to distinguish him from his father or grandfather.

Plus, people unfamiliar with the name are continually asking how to pronounce and spell it.

But one prominent Cono, tax attorney Cono Namorato, likes his name in spite of all this:

Mr. Namorato…says his name has become one of his “biggest assets” in attracting clients. “I get referrals from all over the country,” he says. “They don’t know how to spell my name, but they know the guy named Cono who does tax work.”

What do you think of the name Cono? (Have you ever met anyone with the name?)

Sources:

  • Baker, Kevin, Seth I. Kamil and Eric Wakin. Big Onion Guide To Brooklyn: Ten Historic Walking Tours. New York: NYU Press, 2005.
  • Gasparino, Charles. “Many Brooklyn Italians Favor Cono as a Name for Their Sons.” The Wall Street Journal 10 Nov. 1998.
  • Gonzalez, David. “Still Taking to the Streets to Honor Their Saints.” New York Times 6 Jun. 2010.