Aeneas
Of Greek origin, meaning "praise" or "praised".
Name Census estimates that about 458 living Americans carry the first name Aeneas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aeneas today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aeneas births was 2002 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aeneas. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
458
~ 1 in 748,372 Americans
Peak year
2002
38 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,650
Tracked since 1995
Popularity
Aeneas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aeneas from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 215 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Aeneas remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aeneas by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Aeneas during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aeneas' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Aeneas, while Texas, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aeneas
The name Aeneas has its origins in Greek mythology and literature. It is derived from the Greek word "ainos," meaning "praise" or "laudable." The name was borne by the legendary Trojan hero Aeneas, who was the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite.
In Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid, written in the 1st century BC, Aeneas is portrayed as a courageous and pious leader who escapes from the fallen city of Troy and journeys to Italy, where he becomes an ancestor of the Roman people. The Aeneid was a foundational text in Roman culture and helped establish Aeneas as a significant figure in ancient literature.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Aeneas date back to ancient Greece and Rome, where it was given to individuals in honor of the mythological hero. One notable bearer was Aeneas Tacticus, a Greek military writer who lived in the 4th century BC and authored a treatise on military tactics.
Throughout history, several prominent individuals have borne the name Aeneas. One example is Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (1405-1464), an Italian Renaissance humanist who later became Pope Pius II. Another is Aeneas Mackay (1839-1914), a Scottish-born American naval officer who played a significant role in the American Civil War.
In the realm of literature, Aeneas is the central character in Virgil's Aeneid, which follows his journey from Troy to Italy and the foundation of what would become the Roman Empire. The name has also been used in various literary works, including John Dryden's heroic play "The State of Innocence and Fall of Man" (1677), where Aeneas is a prominent character.
Aeneas has been a significant name in Western culture, particularly in literature and mythology, representing themes of courage, duty, and the founding of civilizations. Its enduring legacy can be traced back to ancient Greek and Roman sources, where it was first associated with the legendary Trojan hero.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Aeneas
People
Aeneas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aeneas as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aeneas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aeneas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 458 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aeneas going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 748,372 US residents.
Is Aeneas a common name?
We classify Aeneas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 463 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aeneas most popular?
The single biggest year for Aeneas was 2002, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aeneas is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Aeneas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aeneas in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.