Paco
Spanish masculine diminutive of Francisco, ultimately derived from Latin Franciscus meaning "Frenchman".
Name Census estimates that about 314 living Americans carry the first name Paco. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Paco today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paco births was 2007 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paco. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Paco with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
314
~ 1 in 1,091,574 Americans
Peak year
2007
18 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,618
Tracked since 1960
Census
Paco in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,094 people with the first name Paco, which placed it at #11,638 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#11,638
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,094 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
81.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paco
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Paco is Hispanic at 81.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Paco described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Paco at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino81.4% · 891
- White8.8% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 51
- Black or African American3.6% · 39
- Two or more races0.9% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 7
Popularity
Paco: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paco from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 86 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paco 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 Paco during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pacos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Paco
The name Paco is a Spanish diminutive form of the name Francisco. It has its origins in the Late Latin name Franciscus, which itself was derived from the Germanic name Franko, meaning "free" or "Frenchman." The name Francisco became popular in Spain after the 13th century due to the influence of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order.
The earliest recorded use of the name Paco dates back to the 16th century in Spain. It was commonly used as a familiar or affectionate form of Francisco, particularly among family and close friends. Over time, Paco became a standalone given name in its own right, rather than just a diminutive.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Paco was Paco de Lucía, a celebrated Spanish guitarist and composer who pioneered the modern flamenco style. He was born Francisco Sánchez Gómez in 1947 and passed away in 2014, leaving a lasting impact on the world of flamenco music.
Another famous bearer of the name was Paco Rabanne, a Spanish fashion designer known for his futuristic and avant-garde designs. Born Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo in 1934, he gained international recognition for his innovative use of unconventional materials, such as metal and plastic, in his fashion collections.
In the world of literature, Paco Ignacio Taibo II, a Mexican writer and journalist born in 1949, is renowned for his detective novels featuring the character Héctor Belascoarán Shayne. His works often explore social issues and provide a critical commentary on Mexican society.
The name Paco also has a strong association with the Spanish bullfighting tradition. One of the most famous matadors in history was Paco Camino, born Francisco Camino Sánchez in 1917. He was known for his exceptional skill and courage in the bullring, and his name became synonymous with the art of bullfighting.
Additionally, Paco de Lucía's nephew, Paco Cepero, born in 1978, has continued the family legacy as a celebrated flamenco guitarist and composer, carrying on the tradition of his esteemed uncle.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Paco, reflecting its deep roots in Spanish culture and its enduring popularity as a diminutive form of Francisco.
People
Paco + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paco as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Paco: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paco?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 314 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paco 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 1,091,574 US residents.
Is Paco a common name?
We classify Paco as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 324 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paco most popular?
The single biggest year for Paco was 2007, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paco is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Paco in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,094 people with the name Paco, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,638 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Paco in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Paco?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Paco leans strongly male. 1,077 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 12 female bearers (1.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Paco?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Paco is Hispanic at 81.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Paco most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Paco in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.4% (891 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Paco in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Paco a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Paco 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.
Is Paco still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Paco in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Paco can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are called Paco?
You can see how many people share the name Paco on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.