Athol
Scottish place name meaning "new bothy" or "new cottage".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Athol. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Athol today is around 93 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Athol births was 1921 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Athol. 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 Athol is about 93 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Athols were born before 1943.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Athol. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1921
10 babies that year
Average age
93
years old
1947 SSA rank
#3,391
Tracked since 1904
Census
Athol in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 100 people with the first name Athol, which placed it at #53,336 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#53,336
National first-name rank
People counted
100
100 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Athol
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Athol is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (31.0%) and Two or More Races (8.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Athol described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Athol at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.0% · 59
- Black or African American31.0% · 31
- Two or more races8.0% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
Popularity
Athol: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Athol from the 1900s through to the 1940s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 75 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
Athol 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 Athol 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 Athol
The name Athol is believed to have originated from the Gaelic language, with roots tracing back to the Scottish Highlands and Ireland. It is derived from the Gaelic words "ath" meaning "ford" or "crossing," and "toll" meaning "hill" or "mound." This combination suggests that the name may have initially referred to a location or geographical feature, such as a ford or crossing near a hill.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Athol can be found in the Scottish nobility. In the 12th century, a noble family known as the Atholl or Athole clan held significant power and influence in the region of Atholl, located in the Scottish county of Perthshire. This clan played a crucial role in Scottish history, and their name became closely associated with the area they ruled.
The name Athol gained further prominence during the 13th century when David de Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl (c. 1250-1326), became a prominent figure in Scottish politics and military affairs. He was a key supporter of King Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence against England.
Another notable figure bearing the name Athol was John Stewart, Earl of Atholl (1566-1603), who served as Lord Chancellor of Scotland and played a significant role in the Scottish Reformation. He was a staunch supporter of Protestantism and worked to establish the reformed religion in Scotland.
In the 18th century, John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl (1755-1830), was a prominent British nobleman and soldier. He served as a colonel in the British Army and was a member of the House of Lords. He is also known for his involvement in the establishment of the Blair Atholl estate, which remains a significant landmark in the Scottish Highlands.
Moving to the 19th century, Athol Mayhew (1836-1894) was a British journalist and author known for his works on urban life and social issues in London. His writings provided valuable insight into the living conditions and experiences of the working class during the Victorian era.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Athol throughout history, highlighting its Scottish and Gaelic origins and its association with nobility, military service, and literary achievements.
People
Athol + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Athol 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
Athol: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Athol?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Athol 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Athol a common name?
We classify Athol as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 136 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Athol most popular?
The single biggest year for Athol was 1921, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Athol is about 93 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Athol in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 100 people with the name Athol, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,336 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Athol in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Athol?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Athol leans strongly male. 94 people counted with this name were male (89.5%), compared with 11 female bearers (10.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Athol?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Athol is White at 59.0%. The next largest groups are Black (31.0%) and Two or More Races (8.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Athol most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Athol in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.0% (59 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Athol in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Athol a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Athol 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 Athol still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Athol 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 Athol 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.
How common is the name Athol?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.