Atreus
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.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Atreus peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
29 people · the #96,655 first name in Brazil · median age 1
The census also counted 26 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
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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