girls' name ★ peaked 2022

Athena

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #109 Trend → Stable

From Middle English Athena, from Latin Athēna, from Ancient Greek Ἀθηνᾶ (Athēnâ).

Rank 2025
#109
among girls · ↓19 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,477
named Athena · -11% vs 2024
How common
1 in 649
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2022
3,029 babies
All-time total
53,118
#567 all-time among girls
First recorded
1902
in Social Security records

Athena popularity over time

53,118 babies have been named Athena since 1902, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.511.5218801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2023Girls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s 17 2 – #1,748
1910s 183 18 +976% #1,106
1920s 416 42 +127% #1,033
1930s 245 25 -41% #1,072
1940s 203 20 -17% #1,653
1950s 786 79 +287% #712
1960s 1,517 152 +93% #743
1970s 2,588 259 +71% #457
1980s 2,964 296 +15% #541
1990s 3,191 319 +8% #517
2000s 6,169 617 +93% #429
2010s 18,303 1,830 +197% #104
2020s (to 2025) 16,536 2,756 +51% #76

Where Athena is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 2,502 1.56 #109
2027 2,524 1.57 #107
2028 2,542 1.58 #106
2029 2,558 1.59 #104
2030 2,572 1.60 #103

Where Athena is most popular

Girls named Athena per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.73 per 1,000. Strongest in Alaska, Nevada, and Wyoming.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Athena born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Alaska 55 6.39 +270%
Nevada 228 4.91 +184%
Wyoming 20 4.69 +172%
Hawaii 53 4.62 +168%
New Mexico 112 4.61 +167%
Vermont 20 4.13 +139%
Montana 49 3.62 +109%
Delaware 38 3.35 +94%
Maine 51 3.30 +91%
Idaho 107 3.20 +85%
Oregon 208 3.19 +85%
Arizona 445 3.17 +84%
Oklahoma 233 3.17 +83%
Iowa 173 2.96 +71%
South Dakota 41 2.87 +66%
California 2,343 2.79 +61%
West Virginia 71 2.71 +57%
Nebraska 91 2.53 +47%
North Dakota 33 2.51 +45%
Colorado 271 2.43 +41%
New Hampshire 44 2.38 +38%
Wisconsin 236 2.29 +33%
Florida 976 2.28 +32%
Indiana 317 2.26 +31%
Washington 326 2.26 +31%
Minnesota 233 2.16 +25%
Arkansas 112 2.12 +23%
Missouri 248 2.06 +19%
Kentucky 173 2.02 +17%
Kansas 116 2.01 +16%
Utah 167 2.01 +16%
Texas 1,594 1.98 +15%
Illinois 453 1.98 +15%
Pennsylvania 451 1.91 +10%
Ohio 444 1.87 +8%
Michigan 335 1.84 +6%
Virginia 313 1.84 +6%
New York 699 1.77 ≈ national
Rhode Island 22 1.76 ≈ national
Tennessee 269 1.70 ≈ national
Maryland 169 1.59 -8%
Connecticut 92 1.58 -8%
Massachusetts 190 1.57 -9%
North Carolina 338 1.48 -14%
New Jersey 265 1.47 -15%
South Carolina 131 1.46 -16%
District of Columbia 17 1.43 -17%
Alabama 131 1.40 -19%
Mississippi 64 1.37 -21%
Georgia 308 1.36 -22%
Louisiana 98 1.12 -35%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Athena

Athena is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #109 in 2025 with 2,477 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1902, 53,118 American babies have been named Athena. Its peak came in 2022, when 3,029 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Athena stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Athena?

The median living Athena is about 9 years old; half are between 4 and 21. An estimated 52 thousand people named Athena are alive in the United States today.

median 9 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Athena year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 2,477 #109
2024 2,794 #90
2023 3,001 #76
2022 3,029 #78
2021 2,717 #98
2020 2,518 #107
2019 2,726 #104
2018 2,605 #117
2017 2,381 #127
2016 2,178 #142
2015 2,054 #157
2014 1,692 #195
2013 1,462 #220
2012 1,310 #246
2011 1,013 #312
2010 882 #363
2009 742 #429
2008 693 #456
2007 732 #439
2006 608 #501
2005 659 #461
2004 599 #489
2003 538 #524
2002 549 #503
2001 551 #499
2000 498 #530
1995 297 #706
1990 285 #731
1985 326 #594
1980 348 #541
1975 252 #625
1970 201 #736
1965 127 #887
1960 151 #842
1955 176 #712
1950 27 #1,836
1945 17 #2,070
1940 13 #2,308
1935 28 #1,381
1930 47 #1,072
1925 38 #1,273
1920 40 #1,208
1915 22 #1,576
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Athena

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Athena Karkanis Canadian television actress b. 1981 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Athena Manoukian Greek singer and songwriter (born 1994) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Athena, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Athena?

The median living Athena is about 9 years old. Half of all living Athenas are between 4 and 21 years old.

How many people named Athena are alive today?

An estimated 52 thousand people named Athena are alive in the United States, based on 53,118 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Athena mean?

From Middle English Athena, from Latin Athēna, from Ancient Greek Ἀθηνᾶ (Athēnâ).

How popular is the name Athena in 2025?

Athena ranked #109 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,477 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Athena?

53,118 babies have been named Athena in the United States since 1902, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Athena most popular?

Athena peaked in 2022, when 3,029 newborns received the name.

Is Athena a boy or girl name?

Athena is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Athena rising or falling?

Athena is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Athena become more popular?

Athena looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,572 girls named Athena in 2030, ranking around #103. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Athena?

Well-known people named Athena include Athena Karkanis (actor), Athena Manoukian (singer).

Names like Athena

Names that sound and feel close to Athena: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Athena with similar names → More names starting with A →