Apollo
Greek masculine name meaning "the destroyer", associated with the sun god.
Name Census estimates that about 8,211 living Americans carry the first name Apollo. It sits at #414 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Apollo today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Apollo births was 2022 (820 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Apollo. 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.
Key insights
- • Apollo is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
8.2K
~ 1 in 41,743 Americans
Peak year
2022
820 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#414
Tracked since 1965
Gender
Gender distribution for Apollo
Out of the 8,294 babies given the name Apollo since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Apollo as a male name
- Ranked #414 in 2024
- 776 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (820 births)
Apollo as a female name
- Ranked #12,333 in 2021
- 7 female births in 2021
- Peak: 2021 (7 births)
Popularity
Apollo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Apollo from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 3,777 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
Apollo 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 Apollo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Apollos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Apollo, while Mississippi, Alaska, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 158 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Apollo
The name Apollo has its origins in ancient Greek mythology and culture. It is derived from the Greek word "apolouein," which means "to deliver from" or "to make whole." The name was given to the Greek god of light, music, poetry, and prophecy, who was also associated with the sun and healing.
The name Apollo first appears in the Homeric Hymns, a collection of ancient Greek hymns dating back to the 7th century BCE. In these hymns, Apollo is described as the son of Zeus and Leto, born on the island of Delos. He was one of the most important deities in the Greek pantheon, revered for his many talents and abilities.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Apollo was a Greek sculptor who lived in the 5th century BCE. His most famous work was a statue of the god Apollo, which stood in the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, one of the most important religious sites in ancient Greece.
In the Renaissance period, the name Apollo became popular among artists and intellectuals who were inspired by the classical ideals of ancient Greece. One of the most famous individuals with this name was the Italian Renaissance artist, Apollo Bronzino (1503-1572), known for his portraits of the Medici family.
Another notable figure with the name Apollo was the 18th-century German composer, Apollo Giordano (1700-1765), who wrote numerous operas and instrumental works during the Baroque period.
In the 19th century, the name Apollo was given to the Russian poet and critic, Apollo Grigoryev (1822-1864), who was a leading figure in the Slavophile movement and a champion of Russian national identity in literature.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Apollo in modern times was the American astronaut, Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), who was the first person to walk on the moon in 1969. The Apollo space program was named after the ancient Greek god, reflecting the program's ambitious goal of exploring the mysteries of the universe.
People
Apollo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Apollo 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
Apollo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Apollo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,211 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Apollo 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 41,743 US residents.
Is Apollo a common name?
We classify Apollo as "Rare". It ranks above 97.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,294 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Apollo most popular?
The single biggest year for Apollo was 2022, when 820 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Apollo is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Apollo a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Apollo 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.