Infante

Meaning & origin●(measured from records)

Attested across 20 languages in the etymology graph.

How Infante is read●(measured from records)

Infante is one spelling over 2 language communities, and the dictionaries record it differently in 2 of them. Each row is what a source recorded for that language, beside the share of this name’s records the language holds. No single row is the name’s meaning.

• Spanish76%

  from infante literally ‘child’, but in Spain also a title borne by the eldest sons of noblemen before they inherited, and in particular by the son of the king of Castile; thus the surname probably originated either as a nickname for one of a lordly disposition or as an occupational name for a member of the household of an infante.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

  nickname for someone with a childlike disposition, from infante ‘child’ (Latin infans, literally ‘one who cannot speak’).

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• English16%

  Any son of the king of Spain or Portugal, sometimes except the eldest or heir apparent.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

The share is ours — how much of this name’s records each language holds. The sense beside it is the source’s, quoted and credited, including where it names a gender. We do not publish a gender of our own per language: our records carry one figure for the spelling as a whole.

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

Infante is also recorded as another name, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Russian surname8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, United States, Peru, Ukraine

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Инфанте, Инфантэ, Інфанте

55 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)

Infante is also recorded in 3 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• young; Guarda; before 1492

  as a name·Dicionario Sefaradi De SobrenomesDictionary Of Sephardic Surnames Inclusive Cristaos-Novos, Conversos, Marranos, Italianos,…

• In Italian, do lat. infans, infantis, criança que ainda não fala; jovem, rapaz

  as a name·Dicionário dos sobrenomes italianos

• In Portuguese, non-heir son of a king, infant

  as a word·A Frequency Dictionary of Portuguese

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)

• José Miguel Infanteb. 1778CLChilean politician (1778-1844)
• Blas Infanteb. 1885ESAndalusian politician (1885–1936)
• Pedro Infante Sr.b. 1917MXMexican actor and singer (1917-1957)
• Carmine Infantinob. 1925USnot in their usual nameAmerican comic book artist (1925-2013)
• Guillermo Cabrera Infanteb. 1929CUCuban writer
• Frank Infanteb. 1951USAmerican musician (born 1951)
• Joaquín Lavínb. 1953CLnot in their usual nameChilean politician (born 1953)
• Gianni Infantinob. 1970CHnot in their usual nameSwiss-Italian-Lebanese football administrator
• Omar Infanteb. 1981VEbaseball player from Venezuela
• Gino Infantinob. 2003ARnot in their usual nameArgentine professional 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

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

from infante literally ‘child’, but in Spain also a title borne by the eldest sons of noblemen before they inherited, and in particular by the son of the king of Castile; thus the surname probably ori… Recorded by Dictionary of American Family Names.

What are other forms of the name Infante?

In the etymology graph, Infanta is a form of the same name in other languages.

How do you pronounce Infante?

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

In which country does Infante have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 11 thousand people named Infante, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled infante.

Where is Infante most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Infante is densest in Uruguay — about 1 in 3.8 thousand people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is the name Infante?

In the United States, the national register counted 11,102 people named Infante in 2010, about 1 in 30 thousand residents.

How common is Infante compared with other names?

In the Philippines, Infante is the 819th most common surname of 876,464 surnames recorded there.