Atreju
A masculine name of fictional origin meaning "a Native American warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Atreju. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Atreju today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Atreju births was 2008 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Atreju. 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 Atreju. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2008
6 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2008 SSA rank
#11,191
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Atreju: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Atreju 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 Atreju during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Atreju
The name Atreju is a fictional name created by the German writer Michael Ende for the main character in his novel The Neverending Story, published in 1979. It does not have a known origin in any real-world language or culture.
In the novel, Atreju is a young warrior from the Plains People of Fantasia, a magical realm. The name is intended to sound exotic and fantastical, fitting for a hero in a fantasy adventure story.
As a made-up name from a popular work of fiction, Atreju has not been widely used as a given name throughout history. However, the popularity of the book and its adaptation into a 1984 film has led some parents to name their children Atreju, particularly in the decades following the book's publication.
While there are no known historical figures named Atreju prior to the 20th century, a few notable individuals have been given this name in recent times, likely inspired by the fictional character. These include Atreju Adams, an American musician and songwriter born in 1985, and Atreju Mukhi, an Indian actor born in 1990.
It is worth noting that the name Atreju has also been adopted by a metalcore band from California, formed in 1998. The band members chose the name as a reference to the character from The Neverending Story, reflecting their interest in fantasy and imagination.
In summary, Atreju is a unique and invented name that gained popularity and recognition due to its association with a beloved children's fantasy novel and its subsequent film adaptation. While it does not have a long historical lineage, it has found a place in popular culture and has been embraced by a small number of individuals as a given name.
People
Atreju + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Atreju 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
Atreju: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Atreju?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Atreju 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Atreju a common name?
We classify Atreju as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Atreju most popular?
The single biggest year for Atreju was 2008, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Atreju is about 18 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 Atreju in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Atreju a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Atreju 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 Atreju still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Atreju 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 Atreju 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 Atreju?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Atreju at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.