Gender: Boy
Meaning: Saint James — holy pilgrim and protector of travelers
Origin: Spanish — a contraction of Santo (saint) + Iago (James), from Latin Sanctus Jacobus
Popularity: Ranked #29 in 2024 with 7,407 babies born.
History: Santiago is the Spanish name for Saint James — the apostle whose shrine at Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain has been one of Christianity's most important pilgrimage destinations for over a thousand years. The city of Santiago is also the capital of Chile, and the name is beloved across the Spanish-speaking world. In the United States it entered the top 100 in the 2000s and has been climbing into the top 50, reflecting both Latino cultural influence and the broader American embrace of melodic, multicultural names.
Name length: 8 letters
How common is Santiago? About 1 in 449 babies born in 2024 were named Santiago, or roughly 20.3 per day in the United States.
Explore more baby names at BabyNa.me — 29,000+ names with meanings, origins, and popularity trends.