Fun Facts About the Name Astor
- 444 babies named Astor: U.S. records list 444 babies given the name Astor from 1880 through 2025. Even 10 girls received the name Astor - about 1 girl for every 43 boys.
What Does the Name Astor Mean?
Astor is chiefly known as a European surname rather than a compound personal name, and the most common explanation treats it as a word name. It is connected to the Old French and Occitan astor (also austor), meaning "goshawk," the hawk used in medieval falconry, from Latin astur. The same bird word lies behind French autour, Italian astore, and Spanish azor. Read this way, the surname began as a nickname or occupational name for a falconer or for someone compared to a hawk.
A separate and unrelated name is the Norse given name Ástþór, built from Old Norse ást ("love") and the god's name Þórr ("Thor"), so roughly "Thor's love." Its likeness to Astor is coincidental: it joins two distinct elements rather than the hawk word.
Some writers also connect the surname to place names such as Astorga in Spain, whose name goes back to the pre-Roman Astures people. That is a different line of derivation from the goshawk explanation, and it is the less certain of the two.
Astor Name History & Origins
Astor is a surname attested in western Europe, and it became widely familiar in the United States through the family of John Jacob Astor (1763 - 1848). He was born in Walldorf, near Heidelberg, in present-day Germany, and emigrated to America, where he made a fortune in the fur trade and in New York real estate. Places named for him, such as Astoria, Oregon, and the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York, spread the family name further.
In southern France and nearby regions, astor was the local word for the goshawk, and surnames taken from birds and falconry were ordinary in medieval Europe. The English given name Astor is mostly a transferred use of the surname and has stayed uncommon.
The Nordic given name Ástþór has its own history in Iceland and Scandinavia, formed from the elements for "love" and the god Thor. It is a distinct name and not a development of the surname Astor.
How Popular is the Name Astor?
Astor 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 2024. Its best rank was #1,177 in 1912.
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 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | #15,977 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #16,194 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,052 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2024 | #4,070 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2023 | #6,254 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2022 | #7,307 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #6,737 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2020 | #6,660 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2019 | #6,436 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #9,768 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2017 | #5,825 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2016 | #9,756 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2015 | #12,244 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2014 | #9,735 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #10,856 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2011 | #12,447 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #5,907 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #3,303 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1959 | #4,027 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1953 | #3,834 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1948 | #3,711 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1947 | #3,390 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1944 | #3,126 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1943 | #2,983 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1942 | #3,239 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1940 | #2,676 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1939 | #3,515 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1938 | #3,197 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1935 | #2,253 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1933 | #3,301 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1932 | #3,107 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1931 | #3,797 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1927 | #2,537 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1923 | #3,494 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1922 | #2,499 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1921 | #3,548 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1920 | #2,778 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1919 | #2,156 | 14 | 0.0014% |
| 1918 | #2,268 | 13 | 0.0013% |
| 1917 | #1,534 | 22 | 0.0024% |
| 1916 | #1,701 | 18 | 0.0020% |
| 1915 | #1,884 | 15 | 0.0018% |
| 1914 | #1,877 | 12 | 0.0018% |
| 1913 | #1,502 | 13 | 0.0025% |
| 1912 | #1,177 | 16 | 0.0037% |
| 1911 | #1,760 | 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 Astor 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 always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Astor's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Astor's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.