Girl's name
Athena
Say it uh-THEE-nuh
Greek origin 3 syllables
Where Athena is loved, common and rare
Common across Canada, England and Wales and two more places. Rare in Italy, France, Scotland and ten more places.
1 in 488 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
British Columbia 63rdOntario 83rdQuebec 84th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 19 of the 40 official lists, among them British Columbia (63rd), Ontario (83rd) and Quebec (84th).
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| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia province | 63rd 2023 | 38 | about 1 in 315 |
| Queensland state | 81st 2025 | 60 | rank only |
| Ontario province | 83rd 2024 | 120 | about 1 in 454 |
| Quebec province | 84th 2025 | 64 | about 1 in 406 |
| England and Wales | 90th 2025 | 519 | 1 in 488 |
| New Zealand | 93rd 2025 | 40 | rank only |
| Italy | 127th 2024 | 206 | 1 in 870 |
| France as Athéna | 140th 2025 | 430 | 1 in 667 |
| Scotland | 172nd 2025 | 24 | 1 in 746 |
| Norway | 259th 2025 | 15 | 1 in 1,453 |
| Switzerland | 322nd 2025 | 37 | 1 in 919 |
| Northern Ireland | 334th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 1,822 |
| Sweden | 365th 2025 | 19 | about 1 in 2,114 |
| Poland | 461st 2025 | 5 | 1 in 23,958 |
| Berlin city | 528th 2023 | 5 | about 1 in 2,901 |
| Ireland | 718th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 5,282 |
| Austria | 742nd 2025 | 5 | 1 in 7,144 |
| The Netherlands | 988th 2025 | 10 | about 1 in 6,102 |
| Bonn city | 382nd 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 3,015 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Munich, Cologne, Leipzig, Rostock, Spain, Catalonia, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn). How we count, and every source
About the name
Athena reached English through Latin, which took it from Ancient Greek. In Greek mythology she is the goddess of wisdom and the patron of Athens, and the name has never lost that association. Athina is the modern Greek form of the same word.
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It has three syllables, uh-THEE-nuh, with the weight in the middle. Athene is an older spelling, Athéna is the French one, and Atena and Athina are close relatives. Pallas, another name of the goddess, also sits in its family.
As a given name Athena is a modern favourite and still climbing. It is used across Canada and Australia, reaching the top 100 in British Columbia, Queensland and Ontario, and it is also given in Italy, France and Norway. In France it reached its highest point in 2025, and it is rising in about half of the places where it appears and falling in none.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- uh-THEE-nuh, 3 syllables
- Origin
- Greek
- Other spellings
- Athina
- Athene
- Atena
- Athénaïs
- Afina
- Pallas
- Athéné
- Atēna
- Atėnė
- Atína
- Aténa
Counted together here: Athéna and Aþena.
Etymology
From Middle English Athena, from Latin Athena, from Ancient Greek Athena. Doublet of Athina.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 10 of 14 regions, falling in none.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 268 | 245 | 239 | 204 | 184 | 185 | 124 | 104 | 96 | 90 |
| Scotland | 453 | 666 | 376 | 560 | 370 | 396 | 273 | 304 | 315 | 172 |
| Northern Ireland | 440 | 434 | 281 | 298 | 305 | 302 | 253 | 334 | ||
| Ireland | 873 | 512 | 716 | 883 | 747 | 495 | 342 | 718 | ||
| Ontario | 164 | 83 | 98 | 109 | 93 | 96 | 84 | 69 | 83 | |
| British Columbia | 59 | 75 | 64 | 115 | 66 | 102 | 80 | 63 | ||
| Queensland | 78 | 72 | 86 | 81 | ||||||
| South Australia | 273 | 223 | ||||||||
| New Zealand | 94 | 93 | 93 | |||||||
| Quebec | 228 | 240 | 191 | 116 | 125 | 163 | 107 | 110 | 100 | 84 |
| France | 546 | 500 | 435 | 383 | 368 | 333 | 240 | 210 | 159 | 140 |
| The Netherlands | 988 | |||||||||
| Austria | 1331 | 1320 | 1024 | 503 | 851 | 758 | 859 | 727 | 606 | 742 |
| Switzerland | 733 | 640 | 711 | 490 | 496 | 737 | 469 | 272 | 357 | 322 |
| Berlin | 847 | 809 | 978 | 562 | 799 | 528 | ||||
| Munich | 226 | |||||||||
| Rostock | 158 | |||||||||
| Norway | 259 | |||||||||
| Sweden | 305 | 321 | 456 | 260 | 337 | 290 | 309 | 290 | 375 | 365 |
| Iceland | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | ||||||
| Italy | 269 | 332 | 274 | 200 | 199 | 169 | 135 | 127 | ||
| Poland | 658 | 449 | 721 | 461 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 90 | 519 | 204.9 |
| 2024 | 96 | 480 | 186.1 |
| 2023 | 104 | 461 | 179.7 |
| 2022 | 124 | 415 | 157.5 |
| 2021 | 185 | 277 | 101.1 |
| 2020 | 184 | 270 | 100.6 |
| 2019 | 204 | 242 | 86.4 |
| 2018 | 239 | 210 | 72.8 |
| 2017 | 245 | 205 | 68.5 |
| 2016 | 268 | 186 | 60.6 |
| 2015 | 340 | 139 | 45.1 |
| 2014 | 339 | 135 | 44.0 |
| 2013 | 437 | 96 | 31.1 |
| 2012 | 443 | 102 | 31.7 |
| 2011 | 520 | 81 | 25.2 |
| 2010 | 583 | 68 | 21.2 |
| 2009 | 879 | 38 | 12.1 |
| 2008 | 681 | 53 | 16.8 |
| 2007 | 822 | 39 | 12.7 |
| 2006 | 717 | 43 | 14.4 |
| 2005 | 824 | 34 | 11.8 |
| 2004 | 667 | 44 | 15.4 |
| 2003 | 818 | 32 | 11.5 |
| 2002 | 799 | 31 | 11.6 |
| 2001 | 732 | 34 | 12.7 |
| 2000 | 539 | 51 | 18.7 |
| 1999 | 567 | 49 | 17.4 |
| 1998 | 589 | 44 | 15.2 |
| 1997 | 820 | 27 | 9.2 |
| 1996 | 802 | 28 | 9.5 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Athena in France since 1925 were born in or after 2020. First recorded in 1976. Her peak year there: 2025, at 149.9 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Athena per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Athena
1 in 298 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Athena.
1 in 993 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Athena.
1 in 919 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Athena.
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Athena. Same first letter as Athena.
1 in 2,556 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Athena.
1 in 438 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Athena.
1 in 320 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Athena.
1 in 473 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Athena. Same first letter as Athena.
1 in 636 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Athena. Same first letter as Athena.
1 in 778 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Athena.
Middle names for Athena
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Athena Charlotte
3-2 beats · initials AC
Changes the beat after Athena: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 86 in Ireland
Athena Sophie
3-2 beats · initials AS
Changes the beat after Athena: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Athena Grace
3-1 beats · initials AG
Changes the beat after Athena: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Athena Olivia
3-4 beats · initials AO · Athena slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Athena: 3 syllables, then 4 syllables. Athena slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 102 in Ireland
Athena Mia
3-2 beats · initials AM
Changes the beat after Athena: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
Athena Ruby
3-2 beats · initials AR
Changes the beat after Athena: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Athena Rose
3-1 beats · initials AR
Changes the beat after Athena: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 173 in Northern Ireland
Athena Nora
3-2 beats · initials AN
Changes the beat after Athena: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
Same style as Athena
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 1,625 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Athena across countries and decades.
1 in 1,634 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Athena across countries and decades.
1 in 1,625 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Athena across countries and decades.
1 in 778 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Athena across countries and decades.
1 in 1,457 in Northern Ireland
91% alike: moves with Athena across countries and decades.
1 in 778 in Scotland
91% alike: moves with Athena across countries and decades.
1 in 1,491 in Scotland
91% alike: moves with Athena across countries and decades.
1 in 606 in England and Wales
91% alike: moves with Athena across countries and decades.
Famous people named Athena
Athena Manoukian, Athena of Monpezat, Athena Karkanis and Athena Chu.
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-
Greek singer born 1994
-
Danish former princess; daughter of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark born 2012
-
Canadian television actress born 1981
-
Hong Kong actress born 1971
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Athena
4 questions, on how popular she is, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Athena?
Her best rank is No. 63 in British Columbia in 2023, about 1 in 315 girls. She is in the published lists of 19 of our 40 regions.
How do you pronounce Athena?
uh-THEE-nuh, with 3 syllables.
Is Athena getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 10 of 14 regions, falling in none.
Which sister names go with Athena?
The deck's top five sisters for Athena: Thea, Maia, Tessa, Anastasia and Thalia. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.