Athalia
Feminine · “the Lord is exalted”
Athaliah is the only woman to rule Judah in her own right — she killed the royal family to do it, and reigned six years before she was cut down.
How old is the name Athalia?
Athalia first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Athalia is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 900 people named Athalia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Athalia most popular?
Athalia peaked in 2025, reaching #2099 nationally. Today it ranks #2099, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Athalyah to Athalia
The story of Athalia
2 Kings has Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, destroy the royal seed of Judah after her son's death and rule for six years — the only queen regnant in the kingdom's history. A hidden grandson was produced by the priests, and she was killed. Racine made a tragedy of it. The name appears in American records in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
the Lord is exalted
From the Hebrew Athalyah, generally read as 'the Lord is exalted' or 'afflicted by the Lord' — the first element is disputed. The Yah ending is the divine name and is settled. The full reading is not.
How the name formed
- Athalyah
- Athalia
Related forms: עתליה · Athaliah · Athalie
Pronouncing Athalia
ath-uh-LEE-uh
Four syllables, stress on the third. Hebrew stresses the final syllable, ata-l-YAH.
Nicknames for Athalia
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
- 202589 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2099reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +2.3%89 in 2025, from 87
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.
Athalia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- עתליה in Hebrew — transliteration
- Athaliah in English — spelling variant
- Athalie in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Athalias among us
people named Athalia are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 18,059 born in 2025 was named Athalia
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Athalia
- #2099
- Athalia on the 2025 chart
- #788
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Athalia went to 89 girls in 2025, but Athaliah is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 172, which makes it the 788th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,311 places above the chart.
- Athalia89
- Athaliah83
About 1 girl in 9,345 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 18,059 for Athalia itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Julieanne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Athalia's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Julieanne climbed just as high around 1987, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Julieanne's path sketches the road Athalia is walking now.
Athalia 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
Where Athalia is headed
Athalia looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 37% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Athalia beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Athalia in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The only queen to rule Judah in her own right carries it.
- Thalia and Ally are two short forms, both with real records.
- Four syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
- The biblical bearer's story is a massacre and a usurpation.
- The first element of the name is genuinely disputed.
- Athaliah, Athalia and Athalie are all in circulation.
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What they receive
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Athalia
Feminine · #2099 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Athalias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Athalia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Athalia?
- Athalia is the most-used spelling in US records — 89 of the 172 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Athaliah.
- How popular is the name Athalia in 2025?
- Athalia ranks #2099 among US girl names in 2025, with 89 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Athalia?
- About 1 in every 18,059 US girls born in 2025 was named Athalia — 89 in all.
- Will my child share the name Athalia with classmates?
- Athalia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Athalia
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eiza#2099 · Ivette#2099 · Elaya#2099 · Lynnlee#2099 · Minerva#2099 · Prudence#2099 · Rosario#2099 · Bayan#2099
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Athalia? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Athalia and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
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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