Santiago

sahn-tee-AH-goh

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The name Santiago means “Saint James.” It comes from the Spanish language tradition.

Santiago means 'Saint James' and is the patron saint of Spain. The Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) is one of the world's most famous pilgrimage routes, ending at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The name resonates deeply across the Spanish-speaking world.

A contraction of Sant Iago, meaning Saint James, where Iago is the Spanish form descended from the Latin Iacobus. Centuries of running the two words together produced a single name, and the same process gives the Portuguese São Tiago and the Spanish surname Diego.

The shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela became one of medieval Europe's three great pilgrimage destinations alongside Rome and Jerusalem, and the Camino is still walked. The name spread across the Spanish-speaking world with the saint's cult, naming the capital of Chile among many other cities, and it now ranks among the leading boys' names in Latin America.

• Santiago Calatrava (Spanish architect)
• Santiago (protagonist of Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist)
• Santiago Solari (Argentine footballer)

Sibling names that share Santiago's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.