Atlanta
Feminine · “equal in weight”
Atalanta would only marry a man who could beat her in a footrace, and nobody could. Hippomenes won by dropping three golden apples one at a time and letting her curiosity do the rest. Her name means equal in weight — a match for anyone — and that is exactly what the story is about.
How old is the name Atlanta?
Atlanta first appears in US birth records in 1895 — 130 years ago. The typical Atlanta alive today was born around 1999, making them about 26 years old. About 700 people named Atlanta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Atlanta most popular?
Atlanta peaked in 1895, reaching #1592 nationally. Today it ranks #11932, 10,340 places below that high. See the whole 1895 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Atalanta to Atlanta
The story of Atlanta
Two sources, one spelling. The Greek Atalanta is one of the very few women in the myths who is an athlete first: exposed at birth, raised by a bear, a hunter, and fast enough to make marriage impossible until she was tricked. The city is more prosaic. It began as the end of a railway line, was called Terminus, then Marthasville, and in 1845 took the name Atlanta from the Western and Atlantic Railroad, which somebody feminized. The city is the reason most Americans know the word, and the runner is the reason it is a name at all. The two arrived at the same eight letters entirely independently.
Meaningscholars disagree
equal in weight
The Greek Atalanta is usually read from atalantos, equal in weight or a match for, which suits the huntress who could outrun any man. The American city is a separate word: it was named in the 1840s as a feminine form of Atlantic, after the railroad that built it. A child called Atlanta may be named for either.
How the name formed
- Atalanta
- Atlanta
Related forms: Atalanta
Pronouncing Atlanta
at-LAN-tuh
Three syllables, stress in the middle, exactly as the city is said. The Greek Atalanta has four, at-uh-LAN-tuh, with an extra syllable at the front.
Nicknames for Atlanta
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
- 1895
- Most girls named
- 199537 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1592reached in 1895
- Change vs 2024
- +40.0%7 in 2025, from 5
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.
Atlanta in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Atalanta in Greek — related form
Atlantas among us
people named Atlanta are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 229,610 born in 2025 was named Atlanta
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
Atlanta 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
Atlanta beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Atlanta in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two documented sources, one mythological and one geographic, both checkable.
- Three syllables with a clear central stress and nothing ambiguous in the spelling.
- Three short forms, none of which sounds like the others.
- It is a major American city, and that is what almost everyone will think of.
- The Greek name has an extra syllable, so the mythological reference is not quite in the spelling.
- A place name of this size carries associations that are not yours to choose.
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What they receive
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Atlanta
Feminine · #11932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Atlantas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Atlanta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Atlanta in 2025?
- Atlanta ranks #11932 among US girl names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Atlanta?
- About 1 in every 229,610 US girls born in 2025 was named Atlanta — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Atlanta with classmates?
- Atlanta will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Atlanta
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Tyliyah#11932 · Braleigh#11932 · Cadance#11932 · Alliah#11932 · Alyia#11932 · Ariannah#11932 · Allanah#11932 · Briyana#11932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Atlanta? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Atlanta and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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