Fun Facts About the Name Athanasios
- More than 1 thousand babies named Athanasios: U.S. records list 1,282 babies given the name Athanasios from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Athanasios Mean?
Athanasios (Αθανάσιος) is a Greek name meaning immortal or deathless. It goes back to the Greek adjective athanatos (ἀθάνατος), built from the negative prefix a- (ἀ-, "not, without") and thanatos (θάνατος, "death"). The related noun athanasia (ἀθανασία) means "immortality" and comes from the same root; thanatos is in turn related to the verb thnēskō (θνῄσκω), "to die." The literal sense is "not subject to death." Christian use of the name tied that literal meaning to belief in eternal life, but that is a religious reading of the word rather than part of its basic sense.
Athanasios Name History & Origins
The name belongs to the Greek-speaking Christian world, and its most prominent early bearer is Athanasios of Alexandria (c. 296 - 373), bishop and theologian, remembered for defending the Nicene Creed against Arianism and for the Life of Antony, a work that shaped Christian monastic biography. Through his reputation the Latinized form Athanasius became familiar in Western Europe, while the original Greek Athanasios remained in use in the eastern Mediterranean.
Several patriarchs of Constantinople bore the name, among them Athanasios I, who held the office in 1289 - 1293 and again in 1303 - 1309. The name stayed common in Greek-speaking lands and passed into other Orthodox countries in adapted forms: Atanas in Bulgarian, Atanasie in Romanian, Afanasy in Russian, and Athanase in French. In modern Greek it is frequently shortened to Thanasis or Thanos, and the feminine counterpart is Athanasia (Αθανασία).
How Popular is the Name Athanasios?
Athanasios 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 1973. Its best rank was #1,330 in 1973.
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 | #4,557 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 2024 | #4,429 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2023 | #5,682 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2022 | #4,314 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2021 | #4,253 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2020 | #7,562 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2019 | #6,129 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2018 | #5,798 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2017 | #7,142 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2016 | #4,336 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2015 | #5,078 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2014 | #4,882 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2013 | #3,976 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2012 | #4,702 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2011 | #4,234 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2010 | #3,536 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 2009 | #3,340 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2008 | #4,048 | 25 | 0.0012% |
| 2007 | #4,510 | 21 | 0.0010% |
| 2006 | #4,874 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2005 | #3,720 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2004 | #5,024 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2003 | #3,740 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2002 | #3,461 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2001 | #4,495 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2000 | #4,403 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1999 | #4,357 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1998 | #3,098 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 1997 | #4,262 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1996 | #3,116 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1995 | #5,150 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1994 | #3,337 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1993 | #2,873 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1992 | #3,114 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1991 | #3,338 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1990 | #3,476 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1989 | #3,333 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1988 | #3,369 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1987 | #3,081 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1986 | #2,368 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1985 | #2,302 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1984 | #2,620 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1983 | #2,022 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 1982 | #2,210 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1981 | #3,231 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1980 | #2,373 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1979 | #2,109 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 1978 | #1,971 | 25 | 0.0015% |
| 1977 | #1,648 | 33 | 0.0020% |
| 1976 | #1,612 | 33 | 0.0021% |
| 1975 | #1,478 | 36 | 0.0023% |
| 1974 | #1,695 | 28 | 0.0018% |
| 1973 | #1,330 | 39 | 0.0025% |
| 1972 | #1,681 | 27 | 0.0017% |
| 1971 | #1,867 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1970 | #2,219 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1969 | #2,695 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1968 | #3,121 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1967 | #2,360 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1966 | #3,979 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #2,795 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1964 | #3,628 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #2,547 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1962 | #3,322 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #3,641 | 6 | 0.0003% |
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 Athanasios 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.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Athanasios's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Athanasios's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.