Álvaro

Spellings & scripts●(measured from records)

Locally spelled Alvaro in US United States, ES Spain, BR Brazil and 4 more.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●(measured from records)

Attested across 24 languages in the etymology graph.

Other names spelled this way◐(inferred from the name graph)

Álvaro is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate name9 spellings in the group

  Also written Älvaro, Ãlvaro, Alvaró, Àlvaro, Âlvaro

• Indonesian given name3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Spain, United States, Philippines

  Also written Alvaro, Al-Varo

47 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●(measured from records)

Álvaro is also recorded in 2 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Spanish: of Germanic (Visigothic) origin. It is probably composed of the elements al all + war guard. The name is now also quite common in Italy, where the accent falls on the second syllable. It seems to have been taken up as a result of the influence of Verdi's opera The Force of Destiny (1862), in which a Peruvian character of this name appears.

  as a word

• In Spanish, Germánico Alwar, de all 'todo' + wers 'prudente': 'todo prudente'.

  as a name·Diccionario etimológico de nombres propios

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Notable people with this name●(measured from records)

• Álvaro de Mendaña de Neirab. 1542ESSpanish explorer
• Álvaro Obregónb. 1880MXMexican politician, president of Mexico
• Fernando Lamasb. 1915ARnot in their usual nameArgentine-born actor (1915-1982)
• Alvaro Sizab. 1933PTPortuguese architect (1933-)
• Álvaro Colomb. 1951GTPresident of Guatemala (2008-2012)
• Álvaro Uribeb. 1952CO39.º President of Colombia from 2002 to 2010
• Álvaro Morteb. 1975ESSpanish actor (born 1975)
• Tony Daltonb. 1975USnot in their usual nameAmerican and Mexican actor (born 1975)
• Álvaro Arbeloab. 1983ESSpanish football manager and player (born 1983)
• Álvaro Negredob. 1985ESSpanish former footballer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

How to address them○(machine-generated)

Evidence●(measured from records)

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce Álvaro?

A machine transcription gives /albaɾo/ (IPA) for Spanish.

What does the name Álvaro mean, and where does it come from?

Inherited from Late Latin Alvarus, from Spanish-Visigothic. The Germanic proper name consists of two parts. The first part may stem from Proto-Germanic *allaz (“all”) or *aþalaz (“noble”). Recorded by Wiktionary and Diccionario etimológico de nombres propios.

In which country does Álvaro have the most bearers?

In Spain, the national register counted about 171 thousand people named Álvaro, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled alvaro.

Where is Álvaro most common?

Álvaro is densest in Spain, where the national register counts about 1 in 292 people carrying it.

How common is the name Álvaro?

In Spain, the national register counted 171,341 people named Álvaro, about 1 in 292 residents.

How common is Álvaro compared with other names?

In Spain, Álvaro is the 77th most common given name of 135,644 given names recorded there.