Aquinas
An Italian masculine name derived from the Latin word "aqua" meaning water.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Aquinas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aquinas today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aquinas births was 2014 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aquinas. 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 Aquinas. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2014
5 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2014 SSA rank
#12,235
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Aquinas: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Aquinas 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 Aquinas during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Aquinas
Aquinas is a masculine given name derived from the Latin Aquinus, which means "from Aquino," a town in the Lazio region of Italy. The name's origins can be traced back to the 13th century and the life of Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic philosopher and theologian renowned for his influential works in the Scholastic tradition.
The earliest recorded use of Aquinas as a first name is associated with Thomas Aquinas himself, born in 1225 in the Kingdom of Sicily (now part of Italy). Aquinas was a member of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) and is widely regarded as one of the most significant thinkers of the Medieval period. His works, such as the Summa Theologica, had a profound impact on Western philosophy and theology.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Aquinas. One such figure was Blessed Aquinas Mazzinghi (1279-1344), an Italian Dominican friar and theologian who was a contemporary of Thomas Aquinas. Another was Saint Aquinas Sarsonas (1598-1628), an Armenian Catholic monk and martyr who was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1891.
In the 16th century, Aquinas Venuti (1522-1587) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Pienza. A few centuries later, Aquinas Lyster (1770-1846) was an Irish Catholic priest and author who wrote several works on theology and philosophy.
More recently, Aquinas Beckwith (1916-2004) was an American Catholic priest and philosopher who taught at Fordham University and wrote extensively on topics related to Thomistic philosophy and theology.
While not as common as some other given names, Aquinas has maintained a presence throughout history, primarily within Catholic and scholarly circles, due to its association with the renowned philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas. Its longevity and enduring use reflect the profound impact and lasting legacy of Aquinas' contributions to Western thought and religious traditions.
People
Aquinas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aquinas 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
Aquinas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aquinas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aquinas 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Aquinas a common name?
We classify Aquinas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aquinas most popular?
The single biggest year for Aquinas was 2014, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aquinas is about 12 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 Aquinas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aquinas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aquinas 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 Aquinas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aquinas 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 Aquinas 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 Americans are named Aquinas?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.