Guadalupe honors Our Lady of Guadalupe, the apparition of the Virgin Mary that has been the patroness of Mexico since the 16th century; the name itself comes from a river and shrine in Spain and is usually explained as Arabic wadi plus Latin lupus, "river of the wolf". It was long one of the most common names in Mexican American families and is used for girls and occasionally for boys. Guadalupe ranked number 235 in 2001, left the US top 1000 in 2021 and stands at number 1,248 in 2025.