Chicago
Mostly boys · shih-KAH-goh · Native American
Chicago is a name of Native American origin, meaning “wild onion”. In 2025 it ranked 7,190th for boys in the US (11 babies).
What does Chicago mean?
Native American: from Miami-Illinois shikaakwa, via French
“wild onion”
The city's name comes from a Native American word for a wild leek that grew along the Chicago River.
- Say it
- shih-KAH-goh
Is Chicago a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Chicago has been given to girls and boys, mostly boys. In 2025, it was given to 12 girls and 11 boys in the US.
How popular is Chicago in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #7,190among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 11about 1 in 160,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 11 boys in the US were named Chicago, making it the 7,190th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 8,062nd. Its busiest year was 2023, with 14 boys. It first appears in the records in 1995. 12 girls were also named Chicago in 2025 (8,360th for girls).
Half of all the boys named Chicago in the US since 1880 were born between 2008 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Chicago in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11 | #7,190 |
| 2024 | 13 | #6,464 |
| 2023 | 14 | #6,215 |
| 2022 | 11 | #7,256 |
| 2021 | 12 | #6,693 |
| 2020 | 9 | #8,062 |
| 2019 | 5 | #12,138 |
| 2018 | 5 | #12,150 |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 7 | #9,562 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 6 | #11,030 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 5 | #11,464 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 7 | #7,553 |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 7 | #7,129 |
| 1995 | 9 | #5,922 |
Names like Chicago
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Thiago Indigo Tadeo Cairo Viggo Juanpablo Ezio Luca Ares Osvaldo Santiago Apollo
More Native American names
Dakota Tallulah Nayeli Winona Kenai Cree Xochitl Xitlali Citlali Alaska Talulah Sequoia Denali Tennessee Dakoda Lakota