girl's name
Ariane
ah-ree-AHN
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 23,232
France
#168
2025 births
Ariane is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "most holy," borne by the woman whose thread got Theseus out of the labyrinth. It ranks 168th in France and is rising in our data.
- Ariane is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 2024, when 340 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,786 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1908.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 3.
Ariane over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 10 |
| 1910s | 25 |
| 1920s | 75 |
| 1930s | 210 |
| 1940s | 445 |
| 1950s | 1,315 |
| 1960s | 1,125 |
| 1970s | 1,935 |
| 1980s | 1,325 |
| 1990s | 1,570 |
| 2000s | 1,175 |
| 2010s | 1,095 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,615 |
What Ariane means
Ariane means most holy, or utterly pure. The Greek Ariadne joins an intensive prefix with hagnos, holy or chaste, so the name is a superlative — not holy but the most holy.
Where Ariane comes from
Ariane is the French form of the Greek Ariadne, from ari, an intensifying prefix, and hagnos, holy. She is the Cretan princess who gives Theseus the thread to find his way out of the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur, then sails with him and is abandoned on Naxos — where Dionysus finds and marries her, which is the part the vase painters preferred. The abandonment gave European art one of its standing subjects and Monteverdi one of the first great operatic laments. Ariane is also the name of Europe's launch vehicle program, running since 1979 from Kourou in French Guiana, which is how most French people encounter the word today. Ariadne and Arianna are the Greek and Italian forms.
Ariane in use
Ariane ranks 168th in France with about 330 births in 2025 and is rising in our data, with its peak in our records in 2024. Our records carry it from 1908. It is very rare elsewhere at 6,375th in the United States and absent from the British tables, where Ariana and Arianna carry the sound instead and are separate names in origin.
How popular is Ariane?
In 2025, Ariane was given to 330 babies in France, ranking #168 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Ariane is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Ariane
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ariane also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ariane over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Ariane in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Ariane
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ariane — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ariane
What does the name Ariane mean?
Ariane means "most holy," from an intensive prefix and the Greek hagnos, holy.
Who was Ariadne?
The Cretan princess whose thread let Theseus escape the labyrinth, and whom he then abandoned on Naxos.
Is Ariane the same as Ariana?
Ariane is the French form of Ariadne. Ariana has a separate Persian and Latin history despite the similarity.
How popular is Ariane?
168th in France, where it is rising.
Is Ariane a girl's or a boy's name?
Ariane is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Ariane?
Ariane has 3 syllables.
Is Ariane a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ariane currently ranks #168 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.