Aristides
Meaning
of the best kind, from Greek aristos (best); the Athenian his city called the Just, and a formal name behind Aris
Goes by Aris. See all nicknames
The story
Aristides is the name of one of the most admired figures of ancient Athens, a statesman and general so consistently fair that his own city called him the Just. The name is built on the Greek aristos, best, the same root inside aristocracy and inside the short form Aris. Plutarch tells a famous story: at an ostracism vote, an illiterate citizen who did not recognize him asked Aristides himself to scratch the name Aristides onto the shard, saying only that he was tired of hearing the man called the Just. Aristides wrote it without complaint, and was exiled. As an American name it is very rare, with no popularity curve in the US records. Its living short form is Aris, which most people meet long before they meet the statesman.
How popular is Aristides around the world?
In the United States, Aristides is on the Social Security birth record for 2020 to 2025. At the 2022 census, 10,155 people in Brazil were named Aristides, ranked 1,696th, with a median age of 64.
Aristides is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Spain and Argentina.
United States
on record
In the United States, Aristides is on the Social Security birth record for 2020 to 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Aristides has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 20,000
At the 2022 census, 10,155 people in Brazil were named Aristides, ranked 1,696th, with a median age of 64.
Among people named Aristides living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1950s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Spain
1 in 80,000
In Spain, 562 residents are named Aristides, ranked 2,114th among men, with a mean age of 53 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
1 in 330,000
In Argentina, 2 newborns were given the name Aristides in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Chile
last on record 2020
Aristides is not on the 2021 record for Chile, where nametree keeps the spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
England and Wales
last on record 2024
Aristides is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Mexico City City
last on record 2021
Aristides is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Montevideo City
last on record 2008
Aristides is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
South Australia
last on record 2003
Aristides is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Scotland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.
The Aristides deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Aristides truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Aristides fits with your family’s names and surname.
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