Ayo
Ayo is a name with a single cultural origin: Yoruba.
- Yoruba
Meaning & Origin of Ayo
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Ayo is a name with a single cultural origin: Yoruba.
Origin data from Behind the Name .
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Yoruba
The Story of Ayo
As a girl name
The earliest SSA record of Ayo as a girl name dates back to 1972, when 7 babies received it. 1982 was its biggest year on record, with 9 newborns named Ayo — #6,889 in the national rankings. About 44% of every Ayo on record arrived during the 1970s, its defining decade. Ayo last appeared in the published SSA data in 2021, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 79 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
American parents first put Ayo on the record books as a boy name in 1973, with 5 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 2021, when 12 Ayos were born — ranking #6,694 that year. About 27% of every Ayo on record arrived during the 2020s, its defining decade. Ayo last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 9 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 155 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Ayo
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Ayo. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Ayo
Phonetically similar names — useful when Ayo is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ayo
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About the name Ayo
Ayo is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1973 and has accumulated 155 births in the dataset. Ayo's peak popularity came in 2021 when it ranked #6,694. Use the chart and map above to compare Ayo's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2021 →
- Names of the 2020s →
- Names starting with "A" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.