Girls' name · peaked in 2023
Athena name popularity since 1925
52,701 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Athena. Half of them were born in 2016 or earlier, so the typical Athena is about 10 years old in 2026. Athena peaked in 2023 as the #76 name for girls, and it ranked #109 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 52,701
- Named Athena, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #109
- for girls in 2025 (2,477 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 100.0% girls
- 52,701 girls · 0 boys
- Most popular in
- Nevada
- 4.09× its national share
Peak year is the year Athena made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Athena births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 2022. Measured as a share of all babies, Athena peaked in 2023.
- Steepest fall: Between 1982 and 1987, Athena's share of baby girls fell by 39%, from 1 in 5,210 to 1 in 8,560.
- Fastest rise: Between 2009 and 2014, it became 2.3× more common, from 1 in 2,480 baby girls to 1 in 1,060.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Athena's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Athena.
Decade by decade
Babies named Athena in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 199 | – |
| 1930s | 245 | #1,381 |
| 1940s | 203 | #2,070 |
| 1950s | 786 | #712 |
| 1960s | 1,517 | #887 |
| 1970s | 2,588 | #625 |
| 1980s | 2,964 | #594 |
| 1990s | 3,191 | #706 |
| 2000s | 6,169 | #461 |
| 2010s | 18,303 | #157 |
| 2020–25 | 16,536 | #109 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
60.0% of babies named Athena from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Alpha years (2013–2025). The full split by generation:
Where Athena is most popular
The index compares Athena's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Athena.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 4.09× | 723 |
| Arizona | 2.61× | 1,678 |
| California | 1.94× | 10,170 |
| Oregon | 1.87× | 869 |
| Colorado | 1.81× | 1,108 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Athena's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Athena.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Athena (2023).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data