nametree
← Ateneabrowse · build a nametreeAthol →

Athena

girl name
Origin
Greek
Syllables
3
Peak era
2020s
Today
▲ Rising

Torn between Athena and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

goddess of wisdom

The story

Athena is older than Greek. Her name does not break down into Greek roots the way most divine names do, which is one reason scholars think she was worshipped in the Aegean before the language that describes her arrived. It leaves a genuinely open question that still divides specialists: whether Athens is named after the goddess or the goddess after the city. We do not know, and anyone who tells you plainly is choosing a side. What she governs is unusually specific for a war deity: not the fighting itself but the strategy, the craft, the weaving and the good counsel. In US records Athena was rare for most of the twentieth century, under 3,200 babies a decade until the 1990s, then reached more than 18,000 in the 2010s. Our own data files it among strong names, which for once is not an overstatement.

More names with stories →

How popular is Athena around the world?

In the United States, 16,536 babies were named Athena between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 519 girls named Athena were born in 2025, the 90th most common name among girls that year.

Athena is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico, South Australia, Scotland, France, Ireland, Mexico City, Austria, Argentina, Montevideo, Poland, Brazil and Spain.

United States

1 in 1,300

In the United States, 16,536 babies were named Athena between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Athena peaked in the 2020s.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

England and Wales

1 in 1,100

In England and Wales, 519 girls named Athena were born in 2025, the 90th most common name among girls that year.

1996peak 2025

share of that year’s name registrations

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

See the full list for England and Wales →

Canada

1 in 1,300

In Canada, 278 girls named Athena were born in 2024, the 82nd most common name among girls that year.

1991peak 2023

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

See the full list for Canada →

New Zealand

1 in 1,400

In New Zealand, 40 girls named Athena were registered in 2025.

2000peak 20182025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Norway

1 in 1,800 · register 2026

In Norway, 15 girls were given the name Athena in 2025.

2020peak 2025

share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

See the full list for Norway →

Puerto Rico

1 in 3,000

In Puerto Rico, 6 babies were named Athena in 2025, and 13 have carried the name since 1998.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

South Australia

1 in 3,100 · 2017

In South Australia, 6 girls were registered as Athena in 2017.
The count never rose above 7 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

See the full list for South Australia →

Scotland

1 in 4,200

In Scotland, 11 girls named Athena were registered in 2024, the 315th most common name among girls that year.

1990peak 2022

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

France

1 in 13,000

In France, about 50 girls named Athena were born in 2025, the 766th most common name among girls that year.

1970peak 2023

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Athena, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Ireland

1 in 14,000

In Ireland, 4 girls named Athena were born in 2025, the 718th most common name among girls that year.

2000peak 2024

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

See the full list for Ireland →

Mexico City City

1 in 15,000

In Mexico City, there were 8 registrations of Athena in 2022.

2000peak 20122022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

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

See the full list for Mexico City →

Austria

1 in 15,000

In Austria, 5 girls named Athena were born in 2025, the 742nd most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Argentina

1 in 19,000

In Argentina, 35 newborns were given the name Athena in 2024.

2012peak 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

See the full list for Argentina →

Montevideo City

1 in 25,000 · 2011

In Montevideo, 1 girl named Athena was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 1 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

See the full list for Montevideo →

Poland

1 in 49,000

In Poland, 5 girls named Athena were born in 2025, the 461st most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Brazil

1 in 330,000

At the 2022 census, 615 people in Brazil were named Athena, ranked 11,601st, with a median age of 3.
Among people named Athena living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.

1980speak 2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 345 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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

See the full list for Brazil →

Spain

1 in 490,000

In Spain, 92 residents are named Athena, ranked 8,321st among women, with a mean age of 15.3 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

See the full list for Spain →

Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Athena

Most people given the name Athena in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Athena

Penelope Chloe Phoenix Zoe Demi Thea

Keep exploring

Names like Athena · Names that go with Athena · Middle names for Athena · Greek baby names · Strong names

The Athena deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Athena 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 Athena fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Does Athena fit YOUR family?

nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.

Add Athena to your family’s tree →
BROWSEAll traditions👶 Baby namesAround the worldAll names🔍 Search a nameName storiesThree-letter namesShort namesVintage revivalsGender-neutralPolishJapaneseCantoneseIrishKoreanIndianMexican American
🌐English ✓EspañolPortuguês
nametree on your phoneDownload on the App StoreGet it on Google Play