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Athena

Gender
Girl
Say it
a-THEE-na
Origin
Greek
UK rank, 2025
#97 for girls
US rank, 2025
#109 for girls

Athena is a girls' name of Greek origin. In 2025 it ranked 97th for girls in the UK (547 babies) and 109th for girls in the US (2,477 babies).

What does Athena mean?

Greek

Greek goddess of wisdom and war and patron of Athens, where her temple, the Parthenon, still stands.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Athena a girl's or a boy's name?

Athena is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 547 girls in the UK and 2,477 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Athena in the UK?

Rank in 2025
97th among girls
Babies in 2025
547 about 1 in 510 girls
Five-year trend
Rising fast up 102% in five years
Same name in a class
2.7% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 547 girls in the UK were named Athena, making it the 97th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 192nd.

It has been given to more girls each year for the last 10 years. 2025 had the most girls named Athena of any year since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the girls named Athena in the UK since 1996 were born between 2015 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.

Among girls in 2025, it was 90th in England and Wales, 172nd in Scotland and 334th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 2024 (#96).

1996Busiest: 547 in 20252025
Athena in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025547#97
2024497#107
2023478#116
2022433#129
2021290#196
2020284#192
2019247#218
2018222#247
2017209#264
2016196#284
2015143#361
2014146#344
201396#484
2012106#466
201183#550
201072#607
200941#895
200855#721
200741#848
200643#787
200534#883
200447#681
200334#843
200231#854
200134#783
200051#590
199949#606
199846#616
199727#895
199628#855

How popular is Athena in the US?

Rank in 2025
109th among girls
Babies in 2025
2,477 about 1 in 650 girls
Five-year trend
Steady up 5% in five years
Same name in a class
2.1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 2,477 girls in the US were named Athena, making it the 109th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 107th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 3,029 girls. It first appears in the records in 1902.

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Athena than any year since 2017.

Half of all the girls named Athena in the US since 1880 were born between 2002 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.

1902Busiest: 3,029 in 20222025
Athena in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20252,477#109
20242,794#90
20233,001#76
20223,029#78
20212,717#98
20202,518#107
20192,726#104
20182,605#117
20172,381#127
20162,178#142
20152,054#157
20141,692#195
20131,462#220
20121,310#246
20111,013#312
2010882#363
2009742#429
2008693#456
2007732#439
2006608#501
2005659#461
2004599#489
2003538#524
2002549#503
2001551#499
2000498#530
1999493#517
1998451#550
1997316#682
1996317#688
1995297#704
1994247#811
1993270#761
1992251#800
1991264#778
1990285#730
1989279#709
1988232#797
1987203#848
1986266#687
1985326#594
1984326#567
1983336#548
1982325#565
1981323#570
1980348#541
1979445#457
1978271#622
1977266#630
1976233#658
1975252#625
1974253#616
1973219#682
1972228#660
1971220#692
1970201#736
1969176#763
1968177#743
1967164#767
1966135#860
1965127#887
1964150#850
1963128#934
1962159#832
1961150#869
1960151#842
1959123#943
1958104#1,017
1957111#983
1956127#884
1955176#711
195445#1,504
195326#2,016
195219#2,410
195128#1,841
195027#1,834
194926#1,881
194830#1,707
194722#2,088
194615#2,481
194517#2,059
194417#2,095
194318#2,078
194222#1,803
194123#1,649
194013#2,296
193914#2,206
193817#1,945
193714#2,196
193617#1,873
193528#1,381
193417#1,913
193331#1,289
193227#1,448
193133#1,258
193047#1,072
192938#1,212
192842#1,178
192739#1,261
192642#1,181
192538#1,272
192451#1,096
192336#1,305
192253#1,030
192137#1,276
192040#1,206
191944#1,103
191835#1,277
191738#1,162
191624#1,533
191522#1,571
191410#2,264
19130–
191210#1,843
19110–
19100–
19096#1,957
19080–
19070–
19066#1,727
19050–
19040–
19030–
19025#1,792

Names like Athena

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Fatima, Aurora, Myla, Lyra, Lara, Aria, Thea, Mila, Arabella, Lyla, Zara, Margot

Other spellings of Athena

Atheena

Names related to Athena

Athina, Atenea, Athenea, Athyna

More Greek names

Luca, Theodore, Sophia, George, Theo, Lucas, Sofia, Alexander, Sebastian, Penelope, Phoebe, Luke, Chloe, Sophie, Zoe, Iris

Every Greek name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Athena: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/athena, updated 20 October 2026.