MEANING & HISTORY
What does Modesto mean?
Modesto is a Romance form of Latin Modestus. The Latin adjective describes moderation or restraint, extending to modest behaviour.
The name was borne by early Christian saints. Modest is the direct word meaning, not an evaluation of a current bearer. The final o reflects the Spanish and Italian personal-name form.
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.
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.
SpanishEtymology & source
Learned borrowing from Latin Modestus (literally “modest”).
a male given name, feminine equivalent Modesta
Wiktionary: Modesto (Spanish) ↗ · 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
People with the name Modesto
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Larry Itliong
Philippine labor organizer in the United States
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Modesto P. Sa-onoy
Filipino historian
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
8
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 ↗Wikidata
2
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Larry Itliong, Modesto P. Sa-onoy
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Modesto 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 Modesto
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
- Modesta·Modest or moderate, feminine of Modestus
- Ernesto♂Seriousness or earnestness
- Moses·Probably Egyptian “son”; biblically linked with drawing out
- Augusto♂Exalted or venerable
- Fausto♂Auspicious or lucky
- Justo♂Just or righteous
- Moises♂Form of Moses; Egyptian origin and biblical wordplay differ
- Motoko♀Japanese name with multiple documented kanji writings
What rhymes with Modesto?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Recorded combinations with Modesto
1 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
Explore combinations →Explore Modesto 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.
- 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.
- Wikidata given-name item Q18812534 — Modesto (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Larry Itliong (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q18812534 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Modesto P. Sa-onoy (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q18812534 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Modesto (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Modesto (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.