girl's name
Athena
uh-THEE-nuh
- Origin Greek
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 65,655
the United States
#109
2025 births
Athena is a girl's name from the Greek goddess of wisdom, warfare and craft. The name's own meaning is unknown — most scholars think the goddess was named after the city of Athens rather than the reverse, and the word appears to be pre-Greek.
- Athena is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 2022, when 3,029 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,338 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1902.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Athena over time
Births per decade in the United States, 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 | 17 |
| 1910s | 183 |
| 1920s | 416 |
| 1930s | 245 |
| 1940s | 203 |
| 1950s | 786 |
| 1960s | 1,517 |
| 1970s | 2,588 |
| 1980s | 2,964 |
| 1990s | 3,191 |
| 2000s | 6,169 |
| 2010s | 18,303 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 16,536 |
What Athena means
Athena has no recoverable meaning. It is almost certainly a pre-Greek name inherited from an earlier Aegean language, which is why sources describe her attributes — wisdom, strategy, craft — rather than translating the name itself.
Where Athena comes from
Athena is the goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare and skilled craft in Greek religion, distinguished from Ares, who represented war's brutality. Ancient Greeks themselves debated whether the city took its name from the goddess or the goddess from the city, and modern scholarship generally favors the city — the name looks pre-Greek, belonging to the language spoken in the Aegean before Greek arrived, alongside words like Corinth and hyacinth that share the same non-Greek pattern. She is the patron of Athens, the Parthenon was built for her, and the owl remains her emblem. As a given name Athena is recent in English and has risen sharply since the 2000s.
Athena in use
Ancient Greeks argued about whether Athens was named for Athena or Athena for Athens; the evidence favors the city.
How popular is Athena?
In 2025, Athena was given to 2,477 babies in the United States, ranking #109 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Athena is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Athena is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Athéna | Athéna is Athena written with an acute accent in France, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #140 in France, against #793 for Athena. | 2,370 |
| Athèna | Athèna is a rare spelling of Athena, written with a grave accent and recorded about 20 times, mostly in France. | 20 |
Names that peaked alongside Athena
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Athena also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Athena over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Athena
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Athena 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 Athena
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Athena — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Athena
What does the name Athena mean?
Its meaning is unknown. The name appears to be pre-Greek, inherited from an earlier Aegean language.
Was Athens named after Athena?
Most scholars think the reverse — the goddess took her name from the city.
What was Athena the goddess of?
Wisdom, strategic warfare and skilled craft, as distinct from Ares and the brutality of war.
How popular is the name Athena?
In 2025, Athena was given to 2,477 babies in the United States, ranking #109 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Athena a girl's or a boy's name?
Athena is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Athena?
Athena has 3 syllables.
When was Athena most popular?
Athena peaked in 2022, when 3,029 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Athena?
Athena is usually shortened to Thea.
Is Athena a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Athena currently ranks #82 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.