Fun Facts About the Name Atlas
- Gaining ground: Atlas entered the U.S. top 100 in 2025, gaining 26 ranking positions compared with the previous year.
- More than 27 thousand babies named Atlas: U.S. records list 27,200 babies given the name Atlas from 1880 through 2025. Even 1,330 girls received the name Atlas - about 1 girl for every 19 boys.
What Does the Name Atlas Mean?
Atlas is a Greek name, borne in myth by the Titan who holds up the sky. It is usually explained as coming from the Greek verb τλάω (tlaō), "to bear, endure," combined with an a- prefix that most accounts treat as intensive. On that reading the name means something like "the enduring one" or "steadfast," describing someone who bears or withstands a heavy load. The prefix is not certain: the same a- can also be privative, "not," which would give "the one who cannot endure." Some scholars have argued that the name is not Greek at all but inherited from an older, pre-Greek language of the Aegean. The literal sense involves bearing and endurance; the familiar symbolic reading, "bearer of the heavens," comes from the Titan's role in the myth rather than from the grammar of the word.
Atlas Name History & Origins
In the earliest surviving Greek poetry, Atlas is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene. Hesiod's Theogony makes him the brother of Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius, and places him at the western edge of the world. Homer's Odyssey describes him holding the great pillars that keep earth and sky apart. After the Titans lost their war with Zeus, Atlas was condemned to hold up the heavens on his shoulders.
Two later episodes became especially well known. In one of his labors, Heracles took over the sky while Atlas fetched the golden apples of the Hesperides. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Atlas is a king in the far west who refuses shelter to Perseus and is turned to stone by the sight of Medusa's head, becoming the mountain range that still carries his name in northwest Africa. Plato, in the Critias, uses the same name for the first king of Atlantis, son of Poseidon.
Because the Titan was identified with the western mountains near the Strait of Gibraltar, the surrounding sea was called the Atlantic, and the Greek genitive form Ἄτλαντος (Atlantos) also underlies the name Atlantis. The common noun atlas, meaning a book of maps, comes from the title of Gerardus Mercator's map collection of 1595, whose frontispiece showed Atlas supporting the globe. Atlas is also used as a given name in modern English, though its main currency is as a word and a mythological figure rather than as a traditional European personal name.
How Popular is the Name Atlas?
Atlas recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2025. Atlas entered the top 100 U.S. boy names in 2025.
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 | #1,478 | 145 | 0.0090% |
| 2024 | #1,414 | 157 | 0.0097% |
| 2023 | #1,385 | 162 | 0.0101% |
| 2022 | #1,387 | 165 | 0.0101% |
| 2021 | #1,241 | 189 | 0.0115% |
| 2020 | #1,643 | 126 | 0.0078% |
| 2019 | #2,233 | 82 | 0.0049% |
| 2018 | #2,713 | 63 | 0.0037% |
| 2017 | #2,926 | 56 | 0.0032% |
| 2016 | #5,013 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 2015 | #4,603 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2014 | #6,015 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2013 | #13,345 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2012 | #13,679 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1934 | #4,331 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1933 | #4,265 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1930 | #4,606 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1925 | #4,476 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1924 | #5,140 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1922 | #3,691 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1921 | #5,176 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1920 | #5,035 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1919 | #3,486 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1917 | #3,118 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1916 | #3,287 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1915 | #3,825 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1913 | #2,350 | 8 | 0.0013% |
| 1912 | #3,007 | 5 | 0.0009% |
| 1910 | #2,441 | 5 | 0.0013% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #75 | 4,413 | 0.2584% |
| 2024 | #101 | 3,417 | 0.1992% |
| 2023 | #111 | 3,209 | 0.1878% |
| 2022 | #130 | 2,915 | 0.1671% |
| 2021 | #147 | 2,549 | 0.1458% |
| 2020 | #187 | 2,054 | 0.1191% |
| 2019 | #226 | 1,658 | 0.0925% |
| 2018 | #290 | 1,217 | 0.0670% |
| 2017 | #329 | 1,042 | 0.0563% |
| 2016 | #398 | 800 | 0.0422% |
| 2015 | #487 | 603 | 0.0315% |
| 2014 | #639 | 411 | 0.0214% |
| 2013 | #780 | 287 | 0.0152% |
| 2012 | #1,383 | 121 | 0.0064% |
| 2011 | #1,486 | 109 | 0.0057% |
| 2010 | #1,575 | 100 | 0.0052% |
| 2009 | #2,144 | 63 | 0.0032% |
| 2008 | #2,348 | 55 | 0.0027% |
| 2007 | #3,191 | 35 | 0.0017% |
| 2006 | #4,695 | 19 | 0.0009% |
| 2005 | #4,836 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2004 | #4,275 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2003 | #5,907 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #5,422 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2001 | #7,585 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2000 | #7,495 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1999 | #6,580 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #5,176 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1997 | #7,343 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1996 | #5,562 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1995 | #7,873 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #8,887 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #4,467 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1991 | #5,550 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1990 | #8,201 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1989 | #6,272 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #6,804 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #6,608 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #6,314 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #5,685 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #4,994 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1980 | #4,164 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #5,113 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #5,908 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1975 | #5,532 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1974 | #4,677 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1971 | #3,162 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1967 | #3,007 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1966 | #3,980 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #3,059 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1963 | #3,671 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #3,323 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #2,909 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1960 | #3,360 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #3,301 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1958 | #2,833 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1957 | #3,580 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1956 | #3,557 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1954 | #2,958 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1953 | #3,449 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1952 | #2,526 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1950 | #3,345 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #2,130 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1948 | #2,226 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1947 | #2,679 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1946 | #2,275 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1945 | #2,759 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1944 | #2,881 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1943 | #2,288 | 11 | 0.0008% |
| 1942 | #3,240 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1941 | #2,669 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1940 | #3,159 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1939 | #3,136 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1938 | #2,492 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1937 | #2,093 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1936 | #2,463 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1935 | #2,403 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1934 | #2,573 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1933 | #2,378 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1932 | #3,391 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1931 | #3,408 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1930 | #1,759 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1929 | #3,002 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1928 | #2,402 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1927 | #2,206 | 14 | 0.0012% |
| 1926 | #2,922 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1925 | #2,201 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1924 | #2,137 | 15 | 0.0013% |
| 1923 | #2,127 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1922 | #1,700 | 21 | 0.0019% |
| 1921 | #1,910 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1920 | #2,141 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1919 | #1,979 | 16 | 0.0016% |
| 1918 | #1,768 | 19 | 0.0019% |
| 1917 | #2,099 | 14 | 0.0015% |
| 1916 | #1,775 | 17 | 0.0019% |
| 1915 | #2,640 | 9 | 0.0011% |
| 1914 | #1,783 | 13 | 0.0020% |
| 1913 | #1,812 | 10 | 0.0020% |
| 1910 | #1,204 | 8 | 0.0041% |
| 1904 | #1,070 | 6 | 0.0047% |
| 1903 | #1,015 | 6 | 0.0050% |
| 1890 | #893 | 6 | 0.0054% |
| 1883 | #901 | 5 | 0.0048% |
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.
Explore Name Lists Featuring Atlas
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How the Name Atlas 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.
✦ Atlas's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Atlas's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.