Santiago: Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, & Inspiration

Updated February 14, 2024

Table of contents

Boy name origins & meanings

Hebrew : Supplanter, substitute; the patron saint of Spain
Spanish : Supplanter

What does Santiago mean and stand for?

The name Santiago is of Hebrew and Spanish origin and means "supplanter." It is also of Latin origin and translates to Saint James. Santiago is derived from Spanish santo (saint) combined with Yago (an old Spanish form of James).

Syllables: 4

Boy name variations

How Popular Is The Name Santiago

Family name origins & meanings

Galician, Portuguese, and Spanish : habitational name from any of the numerous places named for the dedication of their churches to St. James (Sant Iago). The apostle St. James the Greater is the patron saint of Spain; there is a medieval legend that, after the death of Christ, he did not meet a speedy end under Herod Agrippa, but visited and evangelized the Iberian peninsula. His alleged burial site at Compostela has been a place of pilgrimage from all over Europe for over a thousand years.

Popularity

According to Social Security Administration data, Santiago has only recently become popular, breaking the top 100 for the first time in 2017.

However, it is the 9th most popular name on FamilyEducation.com.

According to Google search data analysis, in the last five years Isabella was at its peak popularity in January 2017.

Santiago is a surname, a city in Chile, and the name of the patron saint of Spain. The name has also appeared in various works of literature, such as Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, and Paolo Coehlo's The Alchemist. Despite its fictional character popularity, Santiago does not have very many American namesakes.