Fun Facts About the Name Waco
- 171 babies named Waco: U.S. records list 171 babies given the name Waco from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Waco Mean?
Waco does not have a firmly established meaning. It comes from the name of the Waco people, a Native American group of the Wichita confederacy who lived in central Texas, and that tribal name is generally understood to belong to the Wichita (Caddoan) language. No single translation of it is reliably agreed on. Spanish records commonly wrote the tribe's name as Hueco - which a Spanish speaker would pronounce roughly "WEH-ko," since the h is silent and ue sounds like "we" - and English speakers rendered that spelling and sound as Waco. The frequently repeated idea that the name comes from the Spanish word hueco, meaning "hollow" or "gap," is not clearly supported and may be folk etymology rather than the actual source.
Waco Name History & Origins
The Waco were a Wichita-speaking people of central Texas, living in villages along the Brazos River where they farmed and hunted. They appear in Spanish and later Mexican records, and the spelling Hueco is found in Spanish documents of the region; as English-speaking settlers moved into Texas in the nineteenth century, the name was written as Waco. A community founded on the Brazos in the 1840s took the tribe's name, and the town of Waco, Texas, became the best-known use of the word. As a personal given name, Waco is rare and appears to have grown out of the place name rather than from an older naming tradition; it has little history as a first name.
How Popular is the Name Waco?
Waco has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1974. Its best rank was #2,939 in 1974.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #14,097 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2022 | #12,234 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #14,502 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1991 | #8,201 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #7,872 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #7,783 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #6,363 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #6,238 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #5,337 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #5,037 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #3,194 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1976 | #5,565 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #3,424 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1974 | #2,939 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1973 | #4,046 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1972 | #3,954 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1971 | #4,895 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #3,962 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #4,572 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #3,280 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1941 | #3,982 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1920 | #3,484 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1917 | #4,576 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1916 | #4,507 | 5 | 0.0006% |
| 1913 | #3,242 | 5 | 0.0010% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Waco Shapes Your Personality and Life?
To express itself, you must follow the divine law of love. You have great persistence and hate to give up. You are a good mixer, charming, magnetic and intuitive. The spirituality is the key to success. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Waco's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Waco's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.