Ontario
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- on-TAIR-ee-oh
- Origin
- Native American
Ontario is a boys' name of Native American origin. Too few babies were given it in the latest year to rank.
What does Ontario mean?
Native American: from an Iroquoian word, via the Canadian lake and province
Named after the Canadian province and Great Lake, whose name comes from an Iroquoian word for the lake.
Is Ontario a girl's or a boy's name?
Ontario is a boys' name.
How popular is Ontario in the US?
No boys in the US were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1991, with 35 boys. It first appears in the records in 1967.
Half of all the boys named Ontario in the US since 1880 were born between 1982 and 2002, the years shaded on the chart below.
Ontario in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7 | #9,888 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 7 | #9,815 |
| 2021 | 14 | #6,027 |
| 2020 | 8 | #8,734 |
| 2019 | 5 | #12,138 |
| 2018 | 8 | #8,813 |
| 2017 | 6 | #10,770 |
| 2016 | 10 | #7,600 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 9 | #8,124 |
| 2013 | 6 | #10,722 |
| 2012 | 6 | #10,763 |
| 2011 | 14 | #5,939 |
| 2010 | 12 | #6,692 |
| 2009 | 9 | #8,305 |
| 2008 | 20 | #4,710 |
| 2007 | 14 | #5,898 |
| 2006 | 18 | #4,861 |
| 2005 | 19 | #4,459 |
| 2004 | 11 | #6,514 |
| 2003 | 16 | #4,810 |
| 2002 | 15 | #4,913 |
| 2001 | 24 | #3,507 |
| 2000 | 15 | #4,779 |
| 1999 | 24 | #3,275 |
| 1998 | 19 | #3,704 |
| 1997 | 26 | #2,899 |
| 1996 | 29 | #2,585 |
| 1995 | 22 | #3,095 |
| 1994 | 15 | #4,088 |
| 1993 | 19 | #3,362 |
| 1992 | 18 | #3,452 |
| 1991 | 35 | #2,089 |
| 1990 | 18 | #3,303 |
| 1989 | 30 | #2,239 |
| 1988 | 16 | #3,198 |
| 1987 | 19 | #2,721 |
| 1986 | 23 | #2,358 |
| 1985 | 22 | #2,356 |
| 1984 | 19 | #2,528 |
| 1983 | 20 | #2,407 |
| 1982 | 12 | #3,481 |
| 1981 | 20 | #2,417 |
| 1980 | 24 | #2,162 |
| 1979 | 21 | #2,309 |
| 1978 | 23 | #2,068 |
| 1977 | 14 | #2,909 |
| 1976 | 17 | #2,507 |
| 1975 | 22 | #2,064 |
| 1974 | 16 | #2,457 |
| 1973 | 22 | #1,927 |
| 1972 | 13 | #2,658 |
| 1971 | 8 | #3,656 |
| 1970 | 7 | #3,834 |
| 1969 | 6 | #3,934 |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 5 | #3,964 |
Names like Ontario
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Osvaldo, Octavio, Mauricio, Santiago, Antonio, Rodrigo, Diego, Pablo, Marco, Deangelo, Alessandro, Eduardo
More Native American names
Dakota, Tallulah, Nayeli, Winona, Kenai, Cree, Xochitl, Xitlali, Citlali, Alaska, Talulah, Sequoia, Denali, Tennessee, Dakoda, Lakota
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Ontario: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ontario, updated 20 October 2026.