Fun Facts About the Name Atticus
- More than 18 thousand babies named Atticus: U.S. records list 18,436 babies given the name Atticus from 1880 through 2025. Even 121 girls received the name Atticus - about 1 girl for every 151 boys.
What Does the Name Atticus Mean?
Atticus is a Latin name taken from the Greek adjective Attikos (Ἀττικός), meaning "of Attica" or "belonging to Attica" - the peninsular region of Greece whose chief city was Athens. It is built on Attikē (Ἀττική), the Greek name for that region, with the adjective ending that marks place or belonging. In Rome the word served as a cognomen, the third element of a citizen's name, so its sense was "the Attic one" or "the Athenian." The meaning is geographic; it does not describe a personal quality.
Atticus Name History & Origins
The name entered Latin as a Roman cognomen - the nickname-like third name that distinguished a branch of a family or noted a personal connection. Romans of the late Republic used Atticus for someone tied to Attica or to Greek learning. The best-known bearer was Titus Pomponius Atticus (110 - 32 BC), a wealthy equestrian who settled in Athens for many years, avoided taking sides in Rome's civil wars, and was a close friend of Cicero; Cicero's letters to him survive as the Letters to Atticus.
The name continued in the Greek and Byzantine world. Atticus was patriarch of Constantinople from 406 to 425, and a second-century Middle Platonist philosopher named Atticus wrote a commentary on Plato's Timaeus that survives in fragments. Through Latin and later church use, the name passed into European naming traditions, though it remained uncommon in English-speaking countries for centuries.
In modern English the name is closely associated with Atticus Finch, the lawyer in Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) and its film adaptation. That is a well-known literary use of an older name, not the name's source; the character's name draws on the Roman and classical tradition described above.
How Popular is the Name Atticus?
Atticus recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2021. Its best rank was #264 in 2021.
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 | #10,207 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #12,287 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #8,532 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #10,488 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2021 | #9,040 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2020 | #10,348 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2018 | #11,535 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #6,844 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2015 | #16,762 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2014 | #11,086 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2013 | #11,130 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #11,388 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #13,540 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #281 | 1,208 | 0.0707% |
| 2024 | #277 | 1,223 | 0.0713% |
| 2023 | #284 | 1,187 | 0.0695% |
| 2022 | #272 | 1,270 | 0.0728% |
| 2021 | #264 | 1,310 | 0.0749% |
| 2020 | #299 | 1,119 | 0.0649% |
| 2019 | #309 | 1,096 | 0.0611% |
| 2018 | #325 | 1,029 | 0.0567% |
| 2017 | #350 | 959 | 0.0518% |
| 2016 | #362 | 919 | 0.0484% |
| 2015 | #347 | 979 | 0.0511% |
| 2014 | #369 | 855 | 0.0445% |
| 2013 | #404 | 738 | 0.0390% |
| 2012 | #409 | 711 | 0.0375% |
| 2011 | #465 | 577 | 0.0304% |
| 2010 | #560 | 451 | 0.0235% |
| 2009 | #608 | 422 | 0.0213% |
| 2008 | #688 | 348 | 0.0171% |
| 2007 | #685 | 346 | 0.0167% |
| 2006 | #769 | 270 | 0.0131% |
| 2005 | #791 | 245 | 0.0123% |
| 2004 | #934 | 181 | 0.0091% |
| 2003 | #1,187 | 125 | 0.0063% |
| 2002 | #1,281 | 106 | 0.0055% |
| 2001 | #1,430 | 87 | 0.0045% |
| 2000 | #1,429 | 86 | 0.0044% |
| 1999 | #1,722 | 60 | 0.0031% |
| 1998 | #1,643 | 63 | 0.0033% |
| 1997 | #2,133 | 41 | 0.0022% |
| 1996 | #2,333 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1995 | #1,989 | 42 | 0.0022% |
| 1994 | #2,512 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1993 | #3,149 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1992 | #2,841 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1991 | #3,227 | 19 | 0.0009% |
| 1990 | #2,871 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 1989 | #4,034 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1988 | #5,232 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #4,260 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1986 | #4,152 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #5,615 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #3,641 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1982 | #6,449 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1976 | #5,659 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1975 | #4,355 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1973 | #5,159 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1972 | #5,045 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #3,163 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1969 | #3,616 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1912 | #2,572 | 5 | 0.0012% |
| 1881 | #875 | 5 | 0.0050% |
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 Atticus 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.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Atticus's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Atticus's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.