Attilio
Masculine
Attilio is an Italian survival of a Roman clan name, and it is not Attila. The two look almost identical and have nothing to do with each other — one is an old Italian family name from the republic, the other is a Hunnish king who arrived a thousand years later. The clan produced one of the most quoted stories about keeping a promise in the whole of Roman literature.
How old is the name Attilio?
Attilio first appears in US birth records in 1906 — 119 years ago. The typical Attilio alive today was born around 1925, making them about 100 years old. About 300 people named Attilio are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Attilio most popular?
Attilio peaked in 1914, reaching #836 nationally. See the whole 1914 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From a Roman clan name of unknown origin to Attilio
The story of Attilio
Regulus commanded a Roman army in Africa, was captured, and was sent back to Rome on parole to negotiate an exchange of prisoners, having given his word that he would return if the Senate refused. He stood up in the Senate and argued against the exchange — telling them the terms were bad for Rome and that he himself was old and not worth trading for. Then, having persuaded them, he went back to Carthage and to a death he had every reason to expect. Horace wrote an ode about it four centuries later, and Roman schoolboys were still being taught it when the empire fell.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Roman clan names are frequently older than any Latin word that would explain them, and this one has never been explained. It belongs to the same class as Julius, Claudius and Cornelius: a family, not a meaning. The resemblance to the name of the Hun king is a coincidence of sound between two unrelated languages, and it is the single commonest thing anyone says on meeting the name. Italian kept the clan name in use as a first name; almost no other language did.
How the name formed
- a Roman clan name of unknown origin
- a consul of that clan becomes a byword for keeping his word
- Italian keeps the name in use as a first name
- carried to America with Italian migration
- peaks in the record before the First World War
Related forms: Attilio · Atilius · Atilio
Pronouncing Attilio
ah-TEEL-yoh
Three syllables with the weight in the middle. The doubled t is genuinely held longer in Italian, which English speakers do not do and which is the main thing that marks an outsider saying the name.
Nicknames for Attilio
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
- 1906
- Most boys named
- 191654 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #836reached in 1914
- Change vs 2021
- +37.5%11 in 2024, from 8
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.
Attilio in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Attilio in Italian — same name
- Atilius in Latin — same name
- Atilio in Spanish — spelling variant
Attilios among us
people named Attilio are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Attilio sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is a genuine Roman name in continuous use for well over two thousand years.
- It marks an Italian family history clearly without being difficult to say.
- It is unrepeated in America — a boy carrying it will not meet another.
- Everyone will hear Attila, and the explaining will not stop.
- Three syllables and an Italian ending is a formal name in an English-speaking playground.
- There is no meaning to give him, because Roman clan names generally have none.
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Attilio
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Attilios are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Attilio are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Attilio in 2025?
- Attilio is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Attilio with classmates?
- Attilio will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More A names
The most-given names starting with A, all years combined.
Anthony#46 · Andrew#73 · Alexander#30 · Aaron#80 · Adam#101 · Arthur#87 · Albert#614 · Austin#113
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Attilio? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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