Appollonia
Derived from the name of the Greek god Apollo, meaning "strength" or "destroyer".
Name Census estimates that about 52 living Americans carry the first name Appollonia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Appollonia today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Appollonia births was 1985 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Appollonia. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Appollonia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
52
~ 1 in 6,591,430 Americans
Peak year
1985
27 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1993 SSA rank
#13,607
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Appollonia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Appollonia from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 50 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Appollonia 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 Appollonia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Appollonias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Appollonia
The name Appollonia has its origins in ancient Greece, deriving from the Greek god Apollo, who was associated with the sun, music, poetry, and healing. The name can be traced back to the Hellenic period, which spanned from the 8th century BCE to the 3rd century BCE.
In Greek mythology, Apollo was one of the most important and revered gods, often depicted as a handsome young man with long hair and a laurel wreath on his head. The name Appollonia was likely given to girls born under favorable astrological signs or during festivals dedicated to Apollo.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Appollonia can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who mentioned a woman named Appollonia of Cyzicus, a city in what is now modern-day Turkey. She lived in the 5th century BCE and was known for her wisdom and courage.
In the 3rd century BCE, there was a renowned philosopher and mathematician named Appollonia of Perga, who made significant contributions to the field of geometry. She is credited with developing the concept of oblique cones and their sections, which laid the groundwork for the study of ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas.
During the Byzantine era, Appollonia of Alexandria was a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century CE. According to legend, she had her teeth violently pulled out during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Philip the Arab. She is venerated as the patron saint of dentists and those suffering from toothache or diseases of the teeth.
Another notable figure with the name Appollonia was Appollonia Whipple (1812-1880), an American educator and abolitionist. She was one of the founders of the Oberlin Collegiate Institute, which later became Oberlin College, and played a significant role in promoting equal educational opportunities for women and African Americans.
In the 20th century, Appollonia Chalida (1908-1994) was a renowned Greek actress and singer. She rose to fame in the 1930s and is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of Greek cinema and theater.
People
Appollonia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Appollonia 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
Appollonia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Appollonia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 52 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Appollonia 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 6,591,430 US residents.
Is Appollonia a common name?
We classify Appollonia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 55 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Appollonia most popular?
The single biggest year for Appollonia was 1985, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Appollonia is about 40 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 Appollonia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Appollonia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Appollonia in the SSA data are female. 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 Appollonia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Appollonia 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 Appollonia 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 many people have the name Appollonia?
Find out how many people share the name Appollonia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.