Athena
The Greek goddess of wisdom and craft, closely bound to the city of Athens. The name appears to predate Greek and has no established meaning.
Athena in 2025
Athena was given to 2,477 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 265th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 1,338 babies born.
The history of Athena
Athena reached its highest point in 2022, when 3,029 babies were given the name, ranking 208th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 206th, in 2023.
Across the 124 years of records since 1902, 53,118 babies have been named Athena. Half of them were born before 2015, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation Alpha.
Athena by decade
| Decade | Babies named Athena | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 17 | 2,661 |
| 1910s | 183 | 2,051 |
| 1920s | 416 | 1,915 |
| 1930s | 245 | 1,960 |
| 1940s | 203 | 2,883 |
| 1950s | 786 | 1,241 |
| 1960s | 1,517 | 1,284 |
| 1970s | 2,588 | 832 |
| 1980s | 2,964 | 973 |
| 1990s | 3,191 | 977 |
| 2000s | 6,169 | 830 |
| 2010s | 18,303 | 252 |
| 2020s | 16,536 | 206 |
Where Athena is heading
Athena has risen 21% over the past decade, from 2,054 babies in 2015 to 2,477 in 2025.
Names like Athena
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Athena.