# Anatole (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/anatole/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “sunrise” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈænətoʊl/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 204 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 204 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 20, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From French Anatole, from Ancient Greek ἀνατολή (anatolḗ, “sunrise”). Cognate with Latin Anatolius.

## What it means

Anatole is grouped under dawn.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 7 | 3,034 |
| 1951 | 7 | 3,075 |
| 1953 | 8 | 2,911 |
| 1954 | 8 | 2,952 |
| 1956 | 5 | 3,961 |
| 1958 | 6 | 3,569 |
| 1963 | 7 | 3,327 |
| 1977 | 5 | 5,875 |
| 1979 | 8 | 4,428 |
| 1991 | 5 | 8,279 |
| 1995 | 5 | 8,936 |
| 2007 | 5 | 12,463 |
| 2016 | 6 | 10,835 |
| 2022 | 6 | 10,953 |
| 2025 | 5 | 12,139 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 3 | 4,527 |
| 2011 | 5 | 3,300 |
| 2012 | 3 | 4,805 |
| 2013 | 3 | 4,685 |
| 2015 | 3 | 4,747 |
| 2018 | 3 | 4,749 |

## People named Anatole

- Anatole France, French writer (1844–1924)
- Anatole Abragam, French physicist (1914-2011)
- Anatole Le Braz, Breton writer and scholar (1859–1926)
- Anatole de Monzie, French politician (1876–1947)
- Anatole Mallet, French-Swiss mechanical engineer (1837-1919)
- Henri Jean Baptiste Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu, French publicist and historian (1842–1912)
- Anatole Katok, American mathematician (1944–2018)
- Anatole Milandou, Catholic archbishop
- Anatole de Baudot, French architect (1834-1915)
- Anatole Abang, Cameroonian footballer
- Anatole Jakovsky, French art critic (1907-1983)
- Anatole Chauffard, French internist

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.