Nickname help!
We want to name our baby Penelope but we can’t decide on a nickname? Help!
Give your little one a strong moniker with our list of Mexican baby boy names. Discover the meanings and origins of Hispanic boy names at Peanut.
With a colorful history centered on Spanish culture, Mexican baby boy names give mamas and papas the chance to pay homage to their Hispanic heritage.
In Spanish culture, the male name has a strong influence – with all families taking a “double surnamed” or apellidos approach.
Hispanic family names take the father’s first surname, inherited from his father, and the mother’s first surname, which she inherited from her father.
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As you can see, Mexican male names take precedence over female ones, which makes for all the more compelling an argument for a strong male name.
So, what are the most popular Mexican boy names, and why?
In this article: 📝
- What is a good Mexican name for a boy?
- What’s a badass name for a boy?
- What are cute Mexican names?
- What are some unique Mexican boy names?
- What are indigenous Mexican names?
What is a good Mexican name for a boy?
Thanks to a whole host of European influences, there’s a huge range of popular Mexican male names to choose from.
Many have Biblical roots, which we can attribute to the Catholic church and its roots in both Italy and Spain.
As such, we see many Spanish boy name derivatives.
What’s the most popular name in Mexico?
Many popular Hispanic boy names refer to God and other religious themes as above, or they might have a broader context, drawing on themes such as “power” and “ruler”.
Some popular Mexican male names derived from Spanish include:
- Gabriel: A common name in both Christianity and Judaism, Gabriel means “God is my strength.”
- José: Another common European name, José means “God may add to” – perfect for Anglicizing if your son will be mixing across multiple cultures.
- Miguel: This is a Spanish version of the biblical name Michael. In Spanish, it translates as “who is like God”.
- Manuel: As a shortened version of Emmanuel, Manuel means “God is with us”.
What are common Mexican male names
Still looking for the perfect Mexican boy name for your little niño?
Here are some more common Mexican boy names to choose from:
- Alejandro: Meaning “defender of mankind”.
- Benjamín: Meaning “son of the right hand”.
- Bruno: Meaning “brown”.
- Daniel: Meaning “God is my judge”.
- Diego: Meaning “supplanter”.
- Emmanuel: Meaning “God is with me”.
- Gael: Meaning “stranger”.
- Joaquín: Meaning “established by God”.
- Julián: Meaning “devoted to Jove”.
- Leonardo: Meaning “bold as a lion”.
- Liam: Meaning “determined protector”.
- Mateo: Meaning “gift of God”.
- Matías: Meaning “gift of God”.
- Nicolás: Meaning “victorious”.
- Samuel: Meaning “heard by God”.
- Santiago: Meaning “supplanter”.
- Thiago: Meaning “supplanter”.
- Tomás: Meaning “twin”.
What’s a badass name for a boy?
If you’re looking for something a little more dramatic for your son, there are many war or glory-themed badass Mexican boy names.
Try some of these powerful Mexican boy names on for size if you can picture your son filling the shoes of a top CEO or athlete!
- Martín: Another Anglicized Mexican male name, Martín (pronounced with a stress on the ‘I’) means “warring”. You might recognize the roots – it links to the Roman god of war, Mars. Similarly, Mario, which is also popular in Italy, has the same war-inspired meaning.
- Víctor: Like the English word for “victor”, this means “conqueror”. You may also see its shortened version, Vic more often in Mexico.
- Guillermo: This one’s perfect for older brothers. As the Spanish version of the English name William, this means “resolute protector”. The Spanish name for Raymond, Ramón, has the same meaning.
- Luis: With nods to French history and nobility, Luis means “famous warrior”.
What are cute Mexican names?
If you’re not quite ready to see your little one out on the battlefield just yet, you can choose one of these cute Hispanic boy names instead:
- Arturo: Meaning “bear”.
- Alfredo: Meaning “elf”.
- Amadis: Meaning “love of God”.
- Amor: Meaning “love”.
- Azul: Meaning “blue”.
- Cali: Meaning “fairest”.
- Ciro: Meaning “throne” or “sun”.
- David: Meaning “beloved”.
- Desi: Meaning “desired”.
- Elvio: Meaning “blonde”.
- Emiliano: Meaning “eager”.
- Felipe: Meaning “friend of horses”.
- Ginez: Meaning “attractive”.
- Iker: Meaning “laughter”.
- Lucas: Meaning “light”.
- Melo: Meaning “blackbird”.
- Óscar: Meaning “deer”.
- Pablo: Meaning “little one”.
- Paz: Meaning “peace”.
- Rubén: Meaning “behold, a son”.
- Sebastián: Meaning “revered”.
What are some unique Mexican boy names?
Now for some of the more uncommon Mexican boy names that you may not hear on the playground.
Whether you’re influenced by royalty, place names, or just because you like how it sounds, here are some more unique Mexican boy names to choose from:
- Aguilar: Meaning “haunt of eagles”.
- Agustin: Meaning “magnificent”.
- Aitor: Meaning “good father”.
- Alex: Meaning “defender of men”.
- Andrés: Meaning “manly”.
- Antonio: Meaning “flourishing”.
- Ariel: Meaning “lion of God”.
- Armando: Meaning “soldier”.
- Ávila: After the Spanish region.
- Belén: Meaning “house of bread”.
- Carlos: Meaning “free man”.
- Castel: Meaning “castle”.
- Cristobal: Meaning “Christ-bearer”.
- Dario: Meaning “rich”.
- Eduardo: Meaning “wealthy guard”.
- Enrique: Meaning “home ruler”.
- Esteban: Meaning “crown”.
- Fernando: Meaning “adventurer”.
- Francisco: Meaning “free land”.
- Galo: Meaning “rooster”.
- Gustavo: Meaning “royal staff”.
- Hector: Meaning “to hold”.
- Hugo: Meaning “mind”.
- Ivan: Meaning “archer”.
- Izan: Meaning “steadfast”.
- Jaime: Meaning “supplanter”.
- Javier: Meaning “new house”.
- Jesús: Meaning “God will help”.
- Jorge: Meaning “farmer”.
- Juan: Meaning “God is gracious”.
- Laredo: Meaning “granary worker”.
- Madrid: Meaning “stream”.
- Marco: Meaning “warlike”.
- Mario: Meaning “warlike”.
- Navarro: Meaning “plain among hills”.
- Orlan: Meaning “famous in the land”.
- Pacorro: Meaning “free man”.
- Pedro: Meaning “rock”.
- Rafael: Meaning “God has healed”.
- Ramón: Meaning “counsel protection”.
- Raúl: Meaning “wolf counsel”.
- Rio: Meaning “river”.
- Roberto: Meaning “shining fame”.
- Salvador: Meaning “savior”.
- Sergio: Meaning “guardian”.
- Videl: Meaning “life”.
What are strong unique Mexican boy names?
Now for some unique Mexican male names that mean “strength” or “strong”:
- Arsenio: Meaning “strong”.
- Chicahua: Meaning “strong”.
- Ethan: Meaning “strength”.
- Gerardo: Meaning “spear strength”.
- Ricardo: Meaning “strong leader”.
What are indigenous Mexican names?
If you want to honor your ancient Mexican heritage, you could take things all the way back to the Aztecs.
The main language of the ancient Mexican people was Nahuatl, so here are some indigenous Mexican names for your little one:
- Acalan: Meaning “Tenochtitlan narrow rowing boat”.
- Ácatl: Meaning “giant reed”.
- Ahuatzi: Meaning “small oak tree”.
- Atlatl: Meaning “spear-thrower”.
- Camaxtli: Meaning “without deer sandal”.
- Chimalli or Chimalley: Meaning “shield”.
- Cipactonal: Meaning “production of the day”.
- Cipactli: Meaning “crocodile”.
- Coyotl: Meaning “coyote”.
- Cozcatl: Meaning “jewel”.
- Cuetzpalli or Cuetzpallea: Meaning “lizard”.
- Guatemoc: Meaning “falling eagle” or “diving eagle”.
- Huitzilin: Meaning “hummingbird”.
- Ilhicamina: Meaning “he who hunts the sky” or “he who shoots arrows at the sky”.
- Itzcali: Meaning “house of beauty”.
- Itzcoatl: Meaning “obsidian serpent”.
- Itzli: Meaning “obsidian”.
- Itztli: Meaning “obsidian knife”.
- Mahuizoh: Meaning “glorious person”.
- Matlalihuitl: Meaning “green-blue feathers”.
- Mictlantecuhtli: Meaning “lord of Mictlan”.
- Milintica: Meaning “he waves fire”.
- Necalli: Meaning “battle”.
- Netzahualcoyotl: Meaning “hungry coyote”.
- Nochehuatl: Meaning “constant”.
- Ocotlan: Meaning “pine”.
- Ometecuhtli: After the Aztec god of duality and life.
- Tecuani: Meaning “jaguar” or “tiger”.
- Tezcacoatl: Meaning “serpent king”.
- Tezcatlipoca: The name of the Aztec god of the Great Bear constellation and the night sky.
- Tlacelel: Meaning “greatest hero”.
- Tlaloc: Meaning “he who makes things sprout”.
- Tlanextic: Meaning “light of dawn”.
- Tlanextli: Meaning “radiance” or “splendor”.
- Tlasotepilli: Meaning “prince”.
- Tlilpotonqui: Meaning “feathered in black”.
- Tonatiuh: Meaning “sunshine”.
- Tonauac: Meaning “one who possesses light”.
- Ueman: Meaning “venerable time”.
- Xicohtencatl: Meaning “angry bumblebee”.
- Xihuitl: Meaning “comet”.
- Xipilli: Meaning “jeweled prince”.
- Xiuhtecuhtli: Meaning “fire”.
- Xochipilli: The Aztec god of love and flowers.
- Yaotyl or Yaotel: Meaning “rival”.
- Yolyamanitzin: Meaning “he who is just and considerate”.
- Zipactonal: Meaning “harmonic light”.
- Zolin: Meaning “quail”.
What Mexican name means warrior?
These powerful Mexican boy names meaning “warrior” will give your little man the confidence he needs to stand up for himself:
- Alvaro: Meaning “elf-warrior”.
- Barca: Meaning “warrior”.
- Ocelotl: Meaning “warrior” or “jaguar”.
- Tupoc or Tupac: Meaning “warrior”.
Whether it’s a strong ruler or your lifelong little cub, you’re sure to find the perfect Mexican baby boy name for your little niño.
Still looking? Check out our full list of Mexican baby names for boys, girls, and they-bies.
And for more ideas for baby boy names, you could always ask the mamas of Peanut.