MEANING & HISTORY
What does Bonito mean?
Bonito is documented as a name borrowed from Spanish bonito. The adjective means pretty, handsome, or pleasing and belongs to the Spanish bueno word family.
The word-name route is direct. Bonito also supplies the clipped familiar Bon in Philippine naming, including repeated forms. The adjective explains the chosen word rather than an objective assessment of the bearer.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /boˈnito/Standard-Tagalog
- [boˈn̪iː.t̪o]Standard-Tagalog
Bo · ni · to3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
Borrowed from Spanish Bonito, from bonito.
a male given name from Spanish
Wiktionary: Bonito (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
1
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Bonito in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Bonito
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Benito♂Blessed; contracted form of Benedicto
- Nonito·Historically attested in the Nonitus–Nonnitus name family
- Bonie·As an Older Scots word: beautiful, handsome or pretty
- Jopito·Documented Galician familiar name paired with Antonio
- Jovito♂Name related to Jovita and Jove
- Lolito·Affectionate diminutive of Lolo, a Manuel familiar form
- Nenito·Baby or infant, in a regional Spanish word reading
- Solito·Regional Spanish word: a child’s first steps
What rhymes with Bonito?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Explore Bonito further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wiktionary contributors — Bonito (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary: Bonito (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.
- Wiktionary: bonito (opens in a new tab)
Exact parent or lexical step in the documented formation; local relationship is supported by the exact name entry.
- Real Academia Española: bonito (opens in a new tab)
Adjective pretty/pleasing from diminutive of bueno; differentiated from fish noun homonym.