Atticus
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Meaning
from Attica
The story
Atticus originally meant a person from Attica, the region around Athens. In modern English, however, the name entered family conversations through Atticus Finch, the lawyer in Harper Lee's 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. For many readers he represented moral courage because he defended a Black man falsely accused in a segregated Alabama town. The later publication of Go Set a Watchman complicated that image by presenting an older Atticus with racist views. The contradiction is now part of the name's literary inheritance, and it is more interesting than pretending the character is a simple emblem of virtue. Atticus also reaches further back to the Roman writer Titus Pomponius Atticus, friend and correspondent of Cicero. Atti can soften the formal sound, but the full name has a deliberate, classical pace. Choosing it can open a conversation about how books make heroes, how later books unsettle them, and why a compelling name need not come with an uncomplicated role model.
How popular is Atticus around the world?
In the United States, 7,379 babies were named Atticus between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 7 boys were registered as Atticus in 2017.
Atticus is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 3,000
In the United States, 7,379 babies were named Atticus between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Atticus peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 2,6002017
In South Australia, 7 boys were registered as Atticus 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
Canada
1 in 3,100
In Canada, 119 boys named Atticus were born in 2024, the 272nd 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 5,400
In England and Wales, 109 boys named Atticus were born in 2025, the 379th 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
last on record 2022
Atticus is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 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)
New Zealand
last on record 2024
Atticus is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
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
Scotland
last on record 2022
Atticus is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland 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 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 Atticus
Most people given the name Atticus 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.
Keep exploring
Names like Atticus · Names that go with Atticus · Middle names for Atticus · Iconic movie character names
The Atticus deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Atticus 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 Atticus fits with your family’s names and surname.
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