Vasco

The masculine first name Vasco made its way into German naming in the 1970s and is considered a short form of the names Velasco and Belasco, which have their origins in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. In the Middle Ages, these names were widely used on the Iberian Peninsula.

What does the name Vasco mean?

The name Vasco means "the little crow" or "the little raven". Its roots lie in Basque and consist of the components bela, which means "the crow" or "the raven", and sco, a diminutive form. Therefore, the name is not related to the similarly sounding adjective vasco, which means "Basque" or "Basque person". This name became well-known through the famous Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama.

Where does the name Vasco come from?

Vasco is a masculine first name with Basque roots and means "the little crow". It is composed of the Basque words bela, which means "the crow" or "the raven", and sco, a diminutive ending. The languages in which the name appears are Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

How do you pronounce Vasco?

The sound and pronunciation of Vasco are clear and melodic. In German pronunciation, the name is usually pronounced as "Vas-co" [ˈvasko]. It begins with an open "Vas", which conveys a certain directness. The consonant combination "-sc-" creates a concise, structured middle. The ending "-co" with a rounded vowel provides a closed, stable conclusion. These characteristics give Vasco a confident, traditional, and present aura – compact in its form and distinct in sound.

Popularity

In Germany, Vasco has a certain prevalence and currently ranks 4,024th on the list of the most common male first names. Its best ranking was achieved in 2011 with 999th place. In the last ten years, the name has been given about 50 times, which places it 3,301st in the ten-year statistics. From 2010 to 2024, it ranks 2,789th.

Famous people

• Jose Vasco Proenca Ferreira (Portuguese football player)
• Vasco Bendini (Italian artist)
• Vasco Bergamaschi (Italian cyclist)
• Vasco Campagnano (Italian opera singer)
• Vasco Campos (Portuguese footballer)
• Vasco Costa Rodrigues (Portuguese football player)
• Vasco Creti (actor from Italy)
• Vasco da Gama (The Basque from Gama) (discoverer of the sea route to India (Columbus sought it too, but found America - and thus failed his actual mission...))
• Vasco da Gama Rodrigues (Portuguese poet)
• Vasco de la Zarza (stonemason from Bulgaria)
• Vasco de Lobeira (Portuguese writer)
• Vasco de Quiroga (Mexican bishop)
• Vasco Faisca (Portuguese footballer)
• Vasco Fernandes (football player from Portugal)
• Vasco Fernandes (painter from Poland)
• Vasco Matos (footballer from Portugal)
• Vasco Oliveira (Portuguese footballer)
• Vasco Pratolini (writer from Italy)
• Vasco Regini (football player from Italy)
• Vasco Rocha (Portuguese football player)