boy's name
Atticus
AT-ih-kus
- Origin Latin
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 21,465
the United States
#281
2025 births
Atticus is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "from Attica", the region of Greece around Athens. It began as a Roman nickname for someone steeped in Greek learning, and its modern use comes almost entirely from one character in one novel.
- Atticus is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 2021, when 1,321 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,724 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1881.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Atticus over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 5 |
| 1910s | 5 |
| 1960s | 7 |
| 1970s | 32 |
| 1980s | 63 |
| 1990s | 356 |
| 2000s | 2,216 |
| 2010s | 8,380 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 7,379 |
What Atticus means
Atticus means a man of Attica — in Roman use, someone with Athenian tastes, Greek learning or a residence there. It was a compliment about cultivation rather than a statement about birthplace.
Where Atticus comes from
Atticus is the Latin adjective for Attica, the peninsula containing Athens, and Romans applied it as a cognomen to men associated with Greek culture. The best known is Titus Pomponius Atticus, Cicero's closest friend and correspondent, who earned the name by living in Athens for two decades; the surviving letters between them are a principal source for the last years of the Republic. The name would likely have stayed a classical footnote were it not for Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, and nearly all modern use traces to that novel rather than to Rome.
Atticus in use
Atticus appears in our records as far back as 1881 but had almost no use until the 2000s, peaking in 2021.
How popular is Atticus?
In 2025, Atticus was given to 1,217 babies in the United States, ranking #281 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Atticus 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.
Names that peaked alongside Atticus
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Atticus also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Atticus over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Atticus 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.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Attikus
Sibling names for Atticus
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Atticus — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Atticus
What does the name Atticus mean?
From Attica, the Greek region around Athens. Romans used it for men known for Greek learning.
Is Atticus from To Kill a Mockingbird?
Modern use of the name comes almost entirely from Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's 1960 novel, though the name is genuinely ancient.
How do you pronounce Atticus?
AT-ih-kus, with the stress on the first syllable.
How popular is the name Atticus?
In 2025, Atticus was given to 1,217 babies in the United States, ranking #281 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Atticus a girl's or a boy's name?
Atticus is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Atticus?
Atticus has 3 syllables.
When was Atticus most popular?
Atticus peaked in 2021, when 1,321 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Atticus a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Atticus currently ranks #273 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.