# Athanasius (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/athanasius/  
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 | “immortal” |
| Pronunciation | /ˌæθəˈneɪʃəs/, 4 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Athanasios |
| US babies named this | 259 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 259 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Latin Athanasius, from Ancient Greek Ἀθανάσιος (Athanásios), from ἀθανάσιος (athanásios, “immortal”), from ἀθάνατος (athánatos, “immortal”). Doublet of Athanasios and Afanasy. Compare Ambrose.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 8 | 8,877 |
| 2012 | 5 | 12,442 |
| 2013 | 6 | 10,859 |
| 2014 | 5 | 12,270 |
| 2015 | 16 | 5,530 |
| 2016 | 15 | 5,817 |
| 2017 | 12 | 6,728 |
| 2018 | 16 | 5,572 |
| 2019 | 18 | 5,173 |
| 2020 | 15 | 5,730 |
| 2021 | 14 | 6,058 |
| 2022 | 14 | 6,177 |
| 2023 | 25 | 4,235 |
| 2024 | 25 | 4,206 |
| 2025 | 19 | 5,053 |

## In other languages

- Armenian: Աթանաս
- Bulgarian: Атанас
- Esperanto: Atanazio
- French: Athanase
- German: Athanasius
- Greek: Αθανάσιος
- Hungarian: Atanáz
- Italian: Atanasio
- Latin: Athanasius
- Lithuanian: Atanazas
- Polish: Atanazy
- Portuguese: Atanásio
- Romanian: Atanasie
- Russian: Афана́сий
- Ukrainian: Афана́сій, Пана́с, Опана́с
- Vietnamese: Athanasiô

## People named Athanasius

- Athanasius Kircher, German Jesuit scholar (1601 or 1602-1680)
- Athanasius the Athonite, Byzantine monk
- Athanasius Atule Usuh, Catholic bishop

## 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.