Boy · Latin (possibly older Italic)
Gaius
Say it: GY-us
Meaning
Origin unknown. Ancient writers linked it to Latin gaudere 'to rejoice', but modern scholars treat that as a guess.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
One of the commonest Roman praenomina, abbreviated C. in inscriptions; its Portuguese form Caio is a common boy's name in modern Brazil.
Its wave through time
Rare in the records
In the United States
- 407 babies given this name since 1920
- At its height in 2014, about 1 in 45,700 boys
- 30 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Caius
| Italian | Caio |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | Caio |
| Spanish | Cayo |
| French | Caïus |
Famous bearers
- Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman general and dictator
- Gaius Plinius Secundus, Pliny the Elder
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Roman literature and history (Livy, Cicero, Tacitus and others)
- Roman inscriptions and tombstones
- National birth statistics of European countries source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.