US Popularity Rank: 18665

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Nobody

Nemo is a boy’s name of Latin origin, meaning “nobody.” If the name sounds familiar, maybe it is because of the beloved clownfish in the animated film, Finding Nemo. You may even have chanced upon the fictional character of Captain Nemo from reading Jules Verne’s novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island. But one would have to flip through the pages of The Odyssey by Homer to understand how the name came to be. In the epic, when the monster Cyclops Polyphemus demands the name of the hero fighting him, Odysseus replies, “nobody.” And when Polyphemus calls for help, no one comes to his rescue because he shouts “nobody” was trying to kill him. If you’d like to encourage quick-wittedness and cultivate a strong presence of mind in your little one, Nemo is a tried and tested moniker.