The baby name Elio is the title of the newest Disney Pixar release. Could this boy’s name rocket in popularity?
Thanks to Lena for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME ELIO MEAN?
There are two possible origins for Elio.
It’s tempting to see Elio as yet another of the many Elijah variants. After all Eliot contains the name. And Elio is just Eli-plus-O. Either Elijah or Eli would make the baby name Elio, and it fits in perfectly with Elias, Ellis, and Eliseo, plus Elliot and Elliott.
Except the meaning of Elio is almost certainly different.
It’s a Spanish and Italian name, ultimately derived from the Roman family name Aelius.
And Aelius comes from the Greek word helios, meaning sun.
In fact, Helios was the Greek god of the sun.
File Elio with quiet nature names, borrowings from mythology, and all things that point skyward.
BOY NAMES ENDING WITH O
Another trend that Elio satisfies?
Boy’s names ending with O.
From Theo and Leo to Enzo and Milo, a great many names ending with O are very popular for boys right now.
Some, like Theo, are nicknames. Others, like Leo, a name of Latin origin meaning lion, stand on their own.
Many choices in this category blend modern-sounding style with a sense of history. It’s impossible to argue that a name like Shiloh or Aurelio is new, but they do feel fresh and interesting for American boys born now.
Speaking of Aurelio, a number of these names end with -LIO, or even Elio. Names like Emilio and even Rio help open the door for Elio’s success just as much as all of those EL- names.
With Mateo in the US Top Ten and Luca rising fast, romance language choices with flowing, vowel endings are very current.
PIXAR BABY NAMES
A few summers ago, we all fell in love with Luca, as he explored fictional Portorosso, Italy and found his own way with the help of bestie Alberto.
The 2021 movie struck a nerve. Plenty of parents heard Luca, and the Luke-meets-Noah sound caught on, a traditional choice attached to a great 21st century story.
Will parents take baby name inspiration from Elio?
The name is trending even before the movie debuts.
It’s an adventure set in outer space. A young boy named Elio ends up meeting aliens in outer space. Worth noting: his first name suggests sunshine. The character’s surname, Solis, also refers to the sun, via the Latin sol.
It seems poised to join the list of influential names boosted by Pixar flicks.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME ELIO?
The baby name Elio already ranks in the Top 1000 most popular names in the US.
It debuted back in 2021. As of 2024, the baby name Elio stands at a rank of #507 – an all-time high in the US.
It’s familiar in Italy, ranks in the Top 50 in France, and is rising in use in the UK. It’s not especially common in Spain today, though with Leo and Enzo in their Top Ten, it feels potentially stylish in Spanish, too.
One note: the name’s pronunciation could shift slightly. In many European languages, it sounds a little more like AY-lee-oh.
If you’ve ever had Ellio’s frozen pizza – known for its square shape, you might’ve pronounced it with a long E: EE-lee-oh. The company’s name is a smoosh of the founders’ names.
But in American English? It almost certainly will be pronounced like Elliott without the T, Elijah with an O ending.
ELIO: SHINING and STYLISH CHOICE
The baby name Elio suggests sunlight and all of the warmth and radiance that goes with that image.
It’s an upbeat, optimistic name with a very appealing sound. With choices borrowed from sun gods, like Apollo, and the night sky, like Orion, in the US Top 1000, a baby Elio fits right in.
If your due date falls in the summer month, it’s a perfect name.
Regardless of the movie’s success, it’s easy to imagine this name rising higher.
What do you think of the baby name Elio?
