Arthenia
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "unbending" or "unsubdued".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Arthenia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arthenia today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arthenia births was 1919 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arthenia. 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
- • The typical person named Arthenia is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Arthenias were born before 1963.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Arthenia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1919
7 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1956 SSA rank
#4,860
Tracked since 1919
Popularity
Arthenia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arthenia from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 12 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
Arthenia 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 Arthenia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arthenia
The name Arthenia originates from the Greek language and culture. It is a combination of the Greek words "artos," meaning bread or sustenance, and "thenai," meaning to place or put. This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who played a role in the production or distribution of bread or other food staples in ancient Greek society.
According to historical records, the name Arthenia first appeared in ancient texts and inscriptions from the 5th century BCE. It was used primarily in the regions of mainland Greece and the Greek islands. Similar spellings and variations of the name, such as Arthenaia and Artheneia, were also found in these early sources.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Arthenia was a Greek woman from the island of Lesbos, who lived in the late 5th century BCE. She is mentioned in a surviving fragment of a play by the renowned dramatist Aristophanes, suggesting that the name was in use among the general population at the time.
In the 3rd century BCE, an Arthenia from the city of Corinth is mentioned in an inscription as a priestess of the goddess Demeter. This indicates that the name may have held religious significance or been associated with fertility and agricultural rituals in ancient Greek culture.
During the Hellenistic period, which lasted from the 4th to 1st centuries BCE, the name Arthenia spread to other regions influenced by Greek culture, such as parts of Asia Minor and the Mediterranean world. An Arthenia from the city of Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey, is recorded as a benefactor who funded the construction of a public building in the 2nd century BCE.
Another notable individual with the name Arthenia was a Greek poet who lived in the 1st century BCE. Although little is known about her life, a few fragments of her poetry have been preserved in ancient anthologies, indicating that she achieved some recognition in her time.
In the later centuries of the Roman Empire, the name Arthenia continued to be used among Greek-speaking populations, although it became less common. A few examples can be found in Byzantine sources from the 6th and 7th centuries CE, such as a woman named Arthenia who was a member of a prominent family in the city of Constantinople.
People
Arthenia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arthenia 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
Arthenia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arthenia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arthenia 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Arthenia a common name?
We classify Arthenia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 35 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arthenia most popular?
The single biggest year for Arthenia was 1919, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arthenia is about 73 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 Arthenia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arthenia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arthenia 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 Arthenia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arthenia 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 Arthenia 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 Arthenia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.