| Alvaro | Adolfo | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | All-guard | noble wolf |
| Origin | Spanish | spanish |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | AHL-vah-roh | ah-DOHL-foh |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1914 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2000 (441) | 2003 (505) |
| In 2025 | 328 | 0 |
| Trend | Steady | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Alvaro | Adolfo |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,897 | 546 |
| 2010s | 2,575 | 1,430 |
| 2000s | 3,910 | 3,912 |
| 1990s | 3,355 | 2,746 |
| 1980s | 2,422 | 1,653 |
| 1970s | 1,202 | 1,332 |
| 1960s | 658 | 1,176 |
| 1950s | 499 | 908 |
| 1940s | 270 | 762 |
| 1930s | 232 | 675 |
| 1920s | 259 | 707 |
| 1910s | 78 | 245 |
| 1900s | 0 | 48 |
| 1890s | 0 | 36 |
| 1880s | 0 | 19 |
Álvaro comes from a Germanic name meaning “all-guard” or “elf warrior.”
Spanish and Italian form of Adolf, from Germanic Athalwolf: 'athal' ('noble') plus 'wulf' ('wolf'), meaning 'noble wolf'. The wolf element is preserved in '-olfo'.
Alvaro is more popular than Adolfo today: about 328 US babies were given the name Alvaro in 2025, compared with 0 named Adolfo.
Alvaro means All-guard (Spanish origin), while Adolfo means noble wolf (spanish origin).
In US records, Alvaro first appears in 1914 and Adolfo in 0, so Adolfo has the longer recorded history.