Aphrodite
Feminine
The foam was invented to explain the name. Greeks derived Aphrodite from aphros, sea-foam, and told the story of her birth from it, but the derivation does not work and the name is almost certainly a borrowing from a Near Eastern goddess whose own name Greek could not parse.
How old is the name Aphrodite?
Aphrodite first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Aphrodite alive today was born around 1983, making them about 42 years old. About 500 people named Aphrodite are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Aphrodite most popular?
Aphrodite peaked in 1923, reaching #2169 nationally. Today it ranks #6838, 4,669 places below that high. See the whole 1923 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Aphrodite to Aphrodite
The story of Aphrodite
Aphrodite's iconography, her association with the morning star, her warlike aspects in Sparta and Cyprus and her Near Eastern cult sites all point to Ashtart rather than to anything Greek, and Herodotus himself says her oldest temple was Phoenician. When a name arrives from a language nobody at the receiving end speaks, speakers explain it with whatever word it resembles, and Hesiod's account of her rising from foam is that explanation turned into a story. The name entered English through the classical revival and appears in American records from the 1880s, with a best year of 1923; it has been used steadily in Greek-American families since.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Greek folk etymology from aphros, foam, is what produced the birth story and is not accepted; the phonology does not support it. The name is generally taken as a borrowing, most often connected to the Phoenician Ashtart or the Mesopotamian Ishtar, whose cult and attributes Aphrodite shares closely. Her own name's original meaning is not recovered.
How the name formed
- Aphrodite
- Aphrodite
Related forms: Afroditi · Venus · Ashtart
Pronouncing Aphrodite
af-roh-DY-tee
Four syllables with the stress on the third. Modern Greek says af-roh-DEE-tee with an ee in the third syllable, which is closer to the ancient value.
Nicknames for Aphrodite
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1915
- Most girls named
- 202424 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2169reached in 1923
- Change vs 2024
- −33.3%16 in 2025, from 24
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Aphrodite in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Afroditi in Greek — same name
- Venus in Latin — related form
- Ashtart in Phoenician — related form
Aphrodites among us
people named Aphrodite are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 100,454 born in 2025 was named Aphrodite
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Aphrodite sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Aphrodite beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Aphrodite in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One of the best-known figures in world mythology behind it.
- A documented Greek and Near Eastern cult history that is genuinely interesting.
- Immediately recognizable to everyone.
- Four syllables and nine letters will be shortened and spelled constantly.
- The goddess's associations are strongly and specifically erotic.
- The name's own meaning is genuinely unrecovered.
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What they receive
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Aphrodite
Feminine · #6838 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Aphrodites are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Aphrodite are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Aphrodite in 2025?
- Aphrodite ranks #6838 among US girl names in 2025, with 16 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Aphrodite?
- About 1 in every 100,454 US girls born in 2025 was named Aphrodite — 16 in all.
- Will my child share the name Aphrodite with classmates?
- Aphrodite will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Aphrodite
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Malana#6838 · Jeannie#6838 · Maxie#6838 · Nicol#6838 · Chaney#6838 · Keana#6838 · Concetta#6838 · Pheobe#6838
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Aphrodite? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Aphrodite and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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