[3] The municipality's name was derived from its patron saint, the “Santo Niño”, or the Holy Child.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Council) of South Cotabato passed a resolution in 1980 requesting then Assemblyman Jose T. Sison to file a bill at the Philippine Parliament to create Santo Niño a municipality.

1220 was finally passed and approved on December 23, 1980, when Ferdinand Marcos signed it into law as Batas Pambansa Bilang 90.

[citation needed] Poverty incidence of Santo Niño Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Rice production is the primary industry.

Travel time from Santo Nino to Koronadal City is around 30 minutes.

Travel time from Koronadal City to General Santos is about one hour.