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Achilles

#1,290 in 2025Boys' name

Possibly distress; grief + people, through Ἀχιλλεύς

Achilles has been given to 3,844 babies in the U.S. since 1912. In 2025 it ranked #1,290 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2018, with 257 recorded.

Babies named Achilles, 2025

1 in 22,000

Achilles over time, 1880–2025

Boys
010020030018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Achilles: meaning, origin, and history

Possibly distress; grief + people, through Ἀχιλλεύς

Ancient Greek, English and Latin

What Achilles means

Achilles belongs to the name family reached through Achilles → Ἀχιλλεύς. Its meaning is “distress; grief + people”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Borrowed from Latin Achillēs, from Ancient Greek Ἀχιλλεύς (Akhilleús).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Achilles (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Achilles is used in English, Cebuano, Kashubian and Polish. Its origins include Ancient Greek, English and Latin.

Achilles comes through Latin Achillēs and Ancient Greek Ἀχιλλεύς.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Achil and Ἀχιλλεύς.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Achilles is pronounced /əˈkɪliːz/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 3,844 boys were recorded with the name Achilles between 1912 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 257 in 2018; its best national rank was #857 in 2018.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,051 in 2020 to #1,290 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #966 in 2015 to #1,290 in 2025.

How common is Achilles?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 22,000
151 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 11,300
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,290
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
15,219 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Achilles sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5002%

Put another way: gather 15,219 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Achilles. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Achilless were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Achilles was born before 2016 — so the typical Achilles is around 9 today.

Median birth year
2016
About 9 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
47.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
93.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
3,695
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 47.7% of all recorded uses (1,834).

Is Achilles rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−70
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−239
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−324
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.71×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
58.8%
Peak was 2018 (257)
Years since peak
7
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
12.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#857
2018

Where Achilles is used

Across 2016–2025, Achilles was most concentrated in Hawaii — about 1 in 2,222 boys, against 1 in 9,341 across all states with data. It was least common in Wisconsin (1 in 50,000).

245 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Hawaii1 in 2,222
  2. 2Nevada1 in 3,846
  3. 3Arizona1 in 5,882
  4. 4Florida1 in 6,250
  5. 5California1 in 6,667
  6. 6New York1 in 6,667
  7. 7New Mexico1 in 7,143
  8. 8Texas1 in 7,143

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Achilles around the world

Where Achilles ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2006–2025
    #3,684
    in 2025
  • France
    1900–2025
    #2,978
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2005–2024
    #1,614
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2004–2011
    #784
    in 2011

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Achilles

People whose public names include Achilles, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Achilles in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Achilles. Linked forms have their own page here.

AchilleAkillesAquilesAkhillesAchilliἈχιλλεύςAchilleas / Achille

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Achilles by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,290
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 239
Best rank ever
#857
2018
Peak year
2018
257 that year
First recorded
1912
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,844
Count in 2025
151

Names similar to Achilles

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

HerculesAchilleNilesGilesAquilesNicholesStilesAchilleusAchintyaJulesStylesAchyuthWellesNylesPericlesLesJilesNickolesAchilliesCarlesDouglesAkhillesAcheronMyles

Names with a curve like Achilles

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Achilles, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

KalelCoenJuelzMalakhiThatcherMadduxRayyanKooperYadielAayanCristianoJoziah

Sibling names for Achilles

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Achilles

Top names of 2018, Achilles's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2018Boys' names starting with AGreek Hero NamesGreek Mythology NamesNames from the Iliad & Odyssey