Atha
A masculine Arabic name meaning "gift" or "favor".
Name Census estimates that about 200 living Americans carry the first name Atha. It is a predominantly female name (93.6% of registrations). The average person named Atha today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Atha births was 1918 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Atha. 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 Atha is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Athas were born before 1957.
People living today
200
~ 1 in 1,713,772 Americans
Peak year
1918
60 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1949 SSA rank
#3,719
Tracked since 1882
Gender
Gender distribution for Atha
Atha leans heavily female at 93.6% of total registrations, but 99 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Atha as a male name
- Ranked #3,719 in 1949
- 5 male births in 1949
- Peak: 1921 (11 births)
Atha as a female name
- Ranked #8,074 in 1970
- 5 female births in 1970
- Peak: 1918 (51 births)
Popularity
Atha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Atha from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 422 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Atha 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 Atha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Athas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. North Carolina, Texas, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Atha, while Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Atha
The name Atha has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was prevalent in ancient India during the Vedic period (c. 1500–500 BCE). It is derived from the word "ath," meaning "to wander" or "to roam." This name holds deep significance in Hindu mythology and is often associated with spiritual seekers and wanderers on a path of enlightenment.
One of the earliest mentions of the name Atha can be found in the ancient Hindu scripture, the Upanishads. Specifically, the Kathopanishad, which is believed to have been composed between the 6th and 3rd centuries BCE, references an individual named Atha Nachiketa, a young boy who embarks on a spiritual journey and engages in profound philosophical discussions with Yama, the god of death.
In the 5th century CE, a renowned Indian philosopher and scholar named Adi Shankara, also known as Atha Shankara or Atha Shankaracharya, was born. He played a pivotal role in reviving and propagating the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, which emphasizes the non-dual nature of reality. Adi Shankara's teachings and writings had a profound impact on Hinduism and continue to influence spiritual seekers to this day.
Another notable figure bearing the name Atha was Atha-Mikhail, an 8th-century Syriac author and philosopher from Tikrit, modern-day Iraq. He wrote extensively on logic, metaphysics, and the natural sciences, making significant contributions to the intellectual discourse of his time.
In the realm of art and literature, Atha Baisahebe Devi was a prominent 16th-century Assamese poet and writer from the Ahom Kingdom (present-day Assam, India). Her poetic works, such as the Bargeets (religious songs), are celebrated for their devotional and spiritual themes.
Lastly, Atha Nsoah Bayemi was a 20th-century Cameroonian writer and journalist who played a significant role in the literary and cultural renaissance of his country. Born in 1938, his works explored themes of identity, colonialism, and the struggle for independence.
People
Atha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Atha 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
Atha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Atha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 200 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Atha 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 1,713,772 US residents.
Is Atha a common name?
We classify Atha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,540 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Atha most popular?
The single biggest year for Atha was 1918, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Atha is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Atha a female name?
Yes, 93.6% of people registered as Atha 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.
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.