Ates
A Turkish name meaning "fire" or "blaze".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Ates. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ates today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ates births was 2017 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ates. 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 Ates with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ates. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2017
5 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2017 SSA rank
#12,442
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Ates: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ates 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 Ates 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 Ates
The name Ates is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek word "ates," which means "reckless" or "infatuated." It is thought to have been used as a personal name in Greece as early as the 5th century BCE.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ates can be found in the works of ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus, who wrote about a character named Ates in his tragedy "Seven Against Thebes." This play, written around 467 BCE, tells the story of the battle between the two sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polynices, for control of the city of Thebes.
In Greek mythology, Ates was also the name of the personification of folly, delusion, and infatuation. According to the myths, Ates was a companion of the god Ares, the god of war, and was known for leading people to make reckless and foolish decisions, particularly in times of conflict.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Ates. One of the earliest was Ates of Rhodes, a Greek sculptor who lived in the 4th century BCE and was known for his intricate and lifelike sculptures.
Another famous bearer of the name was Ates Pardus, a Byzantine general who lived in the 10th century CE. He played a significant role in defending the Byzantine Empire against the Bulgarians and was celebrated for his military prowess.
In the 15th century, there was Ates Orbelian, an Armenian historian and writer who authored a comprehensive history of the Orbelian dynasty, which ruled over parts of Armenia and Georgia.
During the Ottoman Empire, Ates Pasha was a prominent military commander who served under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century. He was known for his victories in the Ottoman-Safavid War and his successful campaigns in the Balkans.
More recently, in the 20th century, Ates Gürman was a Turkish film director and screenwriter who made significant contributions to the development of Turkish cinema. He directed several critically acclaimed films and was recognized for his innovative storytelling techniques.
People
Ates + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ates 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
Ates: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ates?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ates 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 Ates a common name?
We classify Ates 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 Ates most popular?
The single biggest year for Ates was 2017, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ates is about 9 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 Ates in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ates a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ates 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 Ates still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ates 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 Ates 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 are called Ates?
You can see how many Americans are named Ates on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.