Attila
Of Germanic origin, meaning "little father" or "little prince".
Name Census estimates that about 616 living Americans carry the first name Attila. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Attila today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Attila births was 2009 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Attila. 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.
People living today
616
~ 1 in 556,419 Americans
Peak year
2009
18 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,854
Tracked since 1958
Popularity
Attila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Attila from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 134 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Attila remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Attila 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 Attila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Attilas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, New Jersey, New York recorded the most babies named Attila, while Texas, Ohio, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Attila
The name Attila has its origins in the Hunnic language, spoken by the nomadic Huns who roamed the Eurasian Steppe in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. It is derived from the Hunnic root "Atta" meaning "father" or "lord," signifying strength, authority, and leadership.
Attila is most famously associated with Attila the Hun (406-453 AD), the legendary ruler who built a vast empire stretching from modern-day Germany to the Black Sea. He earned the moniker "the Scourge of God" for his fearsome reputation as a brutal warrior and conqueror, leading the Hunnic hordes in their relentless westward expansion across Europe.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Attila can be found in ancient Roman and Greek texts, where it was often used to refer to the Hunnic leader and his people. The Byzantine historian Priscus, who met Attila in 448 AD, provides one of the earliest written accounts of his life and reign.
Beyond the famous Attila the Hun, the name has been borne by several other notable historical figures. Attila I (1076-1131) was the King of Hungary from 1038 until his death, renowned for his military campaigns against the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantines. Attila II (1260-1285) was also a King of Hungary, ruling from 1285 until his death.
In more recent times, Attila József (1905-1937) was a celebrated Hungarian poet and a leading figure of the avant-garde literary movement in the early 20th century. His works, which often explored themes of social injustice and poverty, are widely regarded as some of the finest in Hungarian literature.
Another notable bearer of the name was Attila the Pauper (1925-1987), a Hungarian-born American chess master and writer. Despite his modest background, he achieved considerable success in chess tournaments and authored several books on the game, becoming a respected figure in the chess community.
Overall, the name Attila has a rich historical legacy, evoking images of power, strength, and leadership that can be traced back to the formidable Hunnic ruler who left an indelible mark on the European continent more than 1,500 years ago.
People
Attila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Attila 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
Attila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Attila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 616 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Attila 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 556,419 US residents.
Is Attila a common name?
We classify Attila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 653 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Attila most popular?
The single biggest year for Attila was 2009, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Attila is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Attila a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Attila 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.
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.