Ptah
An Egyptian masculine name representing the creator god and patron of craftsmen.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Ptah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ptah today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ptah births was 2020 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ptah. 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 Ptah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2020
5 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2020 SSA rank
#13,565
Tracked since 2020
Popularity
Ptah: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ptah 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 Ptah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ptah
The given name Ptah originates from ancient Egyptian culture, dating back to the early dynastic period around 3100-2686 BCE. It is derived from the name of the Egyptian god Ptah, who was the deity of craftsmen, architects, and sculptors. The name Ptah is thought to be related to the Egyptian word "pt", which means "sculptor" or "engraver".
Ptah was one of the most important deities in the ancient Egyptian pantheon. He was revered as the patron of craftsmen, architects, and sculptors, and was credited with creating the world through his thoughts and words. The name Ptah is mentioned in numerous ancient Egyptian texts and religious scriptures, including the Pyramid Texts and the Book of the Dead.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ptah comes from the Old Kingdom of Egypt, around 2686-2181 BCE. During this period, several pharaohs and high-ranking officials bore the name Ptah or a variation of it, such as Ptahhotep and Ptahshepses.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Ptah. One of the most famous was Ptah-Hotep, an Egyptian vizier and philosopher who lived during the 25th century BCE. He is known for his wisdom teachings, which were recorded in the Instructions of Ptah-Hotep, one of the earliest known works of philosophical literature.
Another notable figure named Ptah was Ptahemhat, an Egyptian architect and engineer who lived during the 5th century BCE. He is credited with designing and constructing several impressive monuments, including the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara.
In the later periods of ancient Egyptian history, the name Ptah continued to be used. One example is Ptahemwia, a high priest of Ptah who lived during the 26th Dynasty (664-525 BCE).
During the Ptolemaic period (305-30 BCE), when Egypt was ruled by Greek rulers, the name Ptah was Hellenized and appeared as Petubates or Petobastis. This was the name of a pharaoh who ruled briefly in the 4th century BCE.
In modern times, the name Ptah has been revived and is occasionally used, particularly in African and African-American communities, as a nod to its ancient Egyptian origins and cultural significance.
People
Ptah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ptah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ptah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ptah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ptah 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 Ptah a common name?
We classify Ptah 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 Ptah most popular?
The single biggest year for Ptah was 2020, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ptah is about 6 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 Ptah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ptah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ptah 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 Ptah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ptah 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 Ptah 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 Ptah?
See how many people have the name Ptah on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.