Fun Facts About the Name Achille
- 402 babies named Achille: U.S. records list 402 babies given the name Achille from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Achille Mean?
Achille is the French and Italian form of the ancient Greek name Ἀχιλλεύς (Achilleus), best known as the name of the Greek hero of the Iliad. The meaning of the Greek name is not securely established. Ancient writers suggested it came from ἄχος (achos, "grief, pain") combined with λαός (laos, "people"), giving a sense such as "grief of the people" or "he who brings grief to the people." A second ancient proposal derived it from the negative prefix ἀ- plus χεῖλος (cheilos, "lip"), meaning "without lips."
These are early attempts to explain the name rather than a settled etymology. Modern scholarship generally treats Ἀχιλλεύς as a pre-Greek name whose original sense is unknown, so the traditional gloss "grief of the people" should be understood as a customary interpretation rather than a confirmed literal meaning.
Achille Name History & Origins
The name belongs first to Greek epic tradition, where Ἀχιλλεύς is the foremost warrior of the Trojan War. A personal name written as a-ki-re-u appears in Mycenaean Linear B tablets, which is sometimes linked to Achilleus, though whether it is the same name remains uncertain. From Greek the name passed into Latin as Achilleus, also spelled Achilles, and from Latin into the vernacular languages of Europe.
In French it took the form Achille, and in Italian the form Achille as well, each adapted to its own sound system. The name was carried through medieval and early modern Europe largely by the classical tradition and by the retelling of Homer's epics; in seventeenth-century French drama, for instance, Achille appears as a character in Racine's Iphigénie. The hero's name also survives in the anatomical term "Achilles tendon," from the story that he was vulnerable only at the heel.
The name was also borne by early Christian martyrs venerated under the Latin form Achilles, which helped keep it in use alongside its literary associations.
How Popular is the Name Achille?
Achille has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1924. Its best rank was #1,727 in 1924.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #8,256 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #8,296 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2021 | #8,840 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #10,617 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #10,820 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #9,711 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2010 | #10,780 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #12,513 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #11,490 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2003 | #10,924 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #9,929 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #8,123 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1986 | #6,733 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #6,275 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #4,909 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1968 | #4,137 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #3,289 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #3,683 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1947 | #3,733 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1946 | #2,919 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1943 | #2,734 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1941 | #2,874 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1936 | #2,452 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1935 | #2,953 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1934 | #3,681 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #3,363 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1931 | #3,095 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1930 | #3,023 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1929 | #2,766 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1928 | #3,076 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1927 | #2,408 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1926 | #2,567 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1925 | #2,089 | 15 | 0.0013% |
| 1924 | #1,727 | 21 | 0.0019% |
| 1923 | #1,874 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1922 | #2,040 | 16 | 0.0015% |
| 1921 | #1,905 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1920 | #2,966 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1919 | #2,152 | 14 | 0.0014% |
| 1918 | #2,073 | 15 | 0.0015% |
| 1917 | #1,816 | 17 | 0.0018% |
| 1916 | #2,544 | 10 | 0.0011% |
| 1915 | #2,832 | 8 | 0.0009% |
| 1914 | #2,102 | 10 | 0.0015% |
| 1913 | #1,945 | 9 | 0.0018% |
| 1911 | #1,740 | 5 | 0.0022% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Achille Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.
✦ Achille's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Achille's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.