Aristotle
Masculine · “Best purpose”
Aristotle is the philosopher and almost nobody else. The Greek Aristotelēs means something like best purpose, and for two thousand years the name was too heavy to give a child. American records show it used in small numbers from the middle of the twentieth century, peaking in the early 1970s.
How old is the name Aristotle?
Aristotle first appears in US birth records in 1925 — 100 years ago. The typical Aristotle alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 1,000 people named Aristotle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Aristotle most popular?
Aristotle peaked in 1973, reaching #2405 nationally. Today it ranks #5208, 2,803 places below that high. See the whole 1973 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Aristotelēs to Aristotle
The story of Aristotle
Aristotle of Stagira studied under Plato, tutored Alexander, and wrote the works that organized European thought on logic, biology, ethics and poetics for the next two millennia. That is a great deal for one word to carry, and the name was consequently rare as a given name for centuries. Modern Greek families revived Aristotelis in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who married Jacqueline Kennedy in 1968, put the name on the front page of every American newspaper. Its American peak in the early 1970s follows directly from that marriage, and it has subsided since to a trickle.
Meaning
Best purpose
From Greek aristos, best, and telos, purpose, end or completion. The name existed before the philosopher — it is an ordinary Greek compound of the kind that produced Sophocles and Themistocles — but he has owned it since the fourth century BC.
How the name formed
- Aristotelēs
- Aristotelis
- Aristotle
Related forms: Αριστοτέλης · Aristotelis · Aristóteles · Aristotele
Pronouncing Aristotle
AIR-iss-tot-ul
Four syllables with the stress on the first in English. Greek says ah-ree-sto-TEH-lees, stressing the third syllable of the fuller form Aristotelis.
Nicknames for Aristotle
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
- 1925
- Most boys named
- 200131 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2405reached in 1973
- Change vs 2024
- −28.0%18 in 2025, from 25
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.
Aristotle in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Αριστοτέλης in Greek — transliteration
- Aristotelis in Modern Greek — same name
- Aristóteles in Spanish — spelling variant
- Aristotele in Italian — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Aristotles among us
people named Aristotle are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 94,893 born in 2025 was named Aristotle
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Ronnel test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Aristotle's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ronnel climbed just as high around 1943, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ronnel's path sketches the road Aristotle is walking now.
Aristotle 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
Aristotle beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Aristotle in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, transparent and unusually good.
- Ari is an excellent, popular short form that carries none of the weight.
- Everyone knows the name, so nobody has to be taught it.
- The philosopher is an enormous shadow, and every teacher will mention him.
- Four syllables is long, and the name will be shortened immediately.
- It is a name people react to, which is a lifetime of small conversations.
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What they receive
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Aristotle
Masculine · #5208 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Aristotles are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Aristotle are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Aristotle in 2025?
- Aristotle ranks #5208 among US boy names in 2025, with 18 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Aristotle?
- About 1 in every 94,893 US boys born in 2025 was named Aristotle — 18 in all.
- Will my child share the name Aristotle with classmates?
- Aristotle will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Aristotle
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rodger#5208 · Eusebio#5208 · Boy#5208 · Randal#5208 · Gable#5208 · Jessy#5208 · Kelby#5208 · Jens#5208
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Aristotle? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Aristotle and another name?
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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