Aous
A Greek name meaning "morning" or "dawn".
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the first name Aous. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aous today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aous births was 2024 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aous. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Aous with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
131
~ 1 in 2,616,445 Americans
Peak year
2024
27 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,978
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Aous: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aous from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 74 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aous 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 Aous during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aous' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Aous
The name Aous has its origins in ancient Greek mythology and literature. It is believed to have derived from the Greek word "aous," which means "swift" or "rapid." This suggests that the name may have been associated with speed, agility, or a swift-moving river or stream.
One of the earliest known references to the name Aous can be found in Homer's Iliad, where it is mentioned as the name of a river in ancient Epirus, a region located in modern-day northwestern Greece and southern Albania. According to Greek mythology, the river Aous was named after Aous, a son of Poseidon and the nymph Arethusa.
In ancient Greek literature, the name Aous was also used to refer to several historical figures. One notable individual was Aous of Trichonis, a Greek warrior who fought in the Trojan War alongside Achilles and his Myrmidons. He is mentioned in the Iliad as one of the leaders of the Greek forces.
Another notable figure with the name Aous was a king of the Boeotians in the 6th century BC. He is mentioned in Herodotus' Histories as having formed an alliance with the Athenians against the Spartans during the Greco-Persian Wars.
In the 3rd century BC, there was an Aous who was a Macedonian nobleman and a general under the Antigonid king Demetrius II Aetolicus. He played a significant role in the ongoing conflicts between the Macedonian kingdom and the Achaean League.
During the Roman imperial period, the name Aous was also used, although less frequently. One recorded individual with this name was Aous of Tralles, a Greek sophist and philosopher who lived in the 2nd century AD. He was known for his teachings on rhetoric and his commentaries on the works of Plato and Aristotle.
While the name Aous may have had its roots in ancient Greek mythology and literature, it does not appear to have been widely used throughout history. The few recorded individuals with this name were primarily from the ancient Greek and Hellenistic periods, with limited usage in later eras. Nevertheless, the name's connection to concepts of swiftness and agility, as well as its association with ancient Greek culture and mythology, make it a unique and historically significant name.
People
Aous + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aous 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
Aous: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aous?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 131 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aous 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 2,616,445 US residents.
Is Aous a common name?
We classify Aous as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 132 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aous most popular?
The single biggest year for Aous was 2024, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aous is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Aous in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aous a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aous 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.
Is Aous still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aous in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Aous can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Aous?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.