Atreus
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Meaning
traditionally 'fearless' (etymology uncertain)
The story
Atreus is as old as Greek tragedy and as new as a game console. In mythology he is the king of Mycenae, father of Agamemnon and Menelaus; his name is traditionally read as fearless, from the Greek negative prefix a and treo, to fear, though the etymology is less settled than the old reading suggests. For a century the name was absent from the published American record. Then five boys in the 2000s, 471 in the 2010s, and 3,058 already this decade, more than six times the full previous total. The years line up with a plain fact: in 2018 the video game God of War introduced Atreus as the son of its hero Kratos, and the record's climb follows. Behind the Name now ranks the name 582nd in the United States and 822nd in England and Wales for 2025. Brazil's census counts 29, with a median age of one. Three thousand years of story, and the record shows families discovering it just now.
How popular is Atreus around the world?
In the United States, 3,058 babies were named Atreus between 2020 and 2025. In New Zealand, 17 boys named Atreus were registered in 2025.
Atreus is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, Canada, England and Wales, Austria, Mexico City, Argentina and Brazil.
United States
1 in 7,100
In the United States, 3,058 babies were named Atreus between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Atreus peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 3,400
In New Zealand, 17 boys named Atreus were registered in 2025.
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
Canada
1 in 9,600
In Canada, 38 boys named Atreus were born in 2024, the 706th most common name among boys that year.
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)
England and Wales
1 in 15,000
In England and Wales, 39 boys named Atreus were born in 2025, the 822nd most common name among boys that year.
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
Austria
1 in 25,000
In Austria, 3 boys named Atreus were born in 2025, the 981st most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 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)
Mexico City City
1 in 29,000
In Mexico City, there were 4 registrations of Atreus in 2022.
The count never rose above 9 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 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 130,000
In Argentina, 5 newborns were given the name Atreus in 2024.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 29 people in Brazil were named Atreus, ranked 96,655th, with a median age of 1.
The census also counted 26 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
Not on the record in Spain, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Atreus
Most people given the name Atreus 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.
The Atreus deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Atreus 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 Atreus fits with your family’s names and surname.
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