Ares
Of Greek origin, meaning the god of war and courage.
Name Census estimates that about 7,329 living Americans carry the first name Ares. It sits at #295 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (96.4% of registrations). The average person named Ares today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ares births was 2024 (1,158 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ares. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ares with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Ares is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 263 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Ares is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
7.3K
~ 1 in 46,767 Americans
Peak year
2024
1,158 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#295
Tracked since 1983
Census
Ares in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,221 people with the first name Ares, which placed it at #5,357 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
#5,357
National first-name rank
People counted
3.2K
3,221 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
41.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ares
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ares is Hispanic at 41.0%. The next largest groups are White (34.5%) and Two or More Races (9.3%). 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 Ares 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 Ares at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino41.0% · 1,322
- White34.5% · 1,110
- Two or more races9.3% · 298
- Black or African American7.8% · 250
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 186
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 55
Gender
Gender distribution for Ares
Ares leans heavily male at 96.4% of total registrations, but 263 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ares as a male name
- Ranked #295 in 2024
- 1,136 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (1,136 births)
Ares as a female name
- Ranked #5,619 in 2024
- 22 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (37 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ares leans strongly male. 3,037 people counted with this name were male (94.5%), compared with 177 female bearers (5.5%).
Popularity
Ares: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ares from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 3,710 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ares 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 Ares during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ares' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Ares, while Rhode Island, Nebraska, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 157 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ares
The name Ares has its roots in ancient Greek mythology and culture, tracing back to at least the 8th century BC. It is derived from the Greek word 'Arēs,' which means 'battle' or 'war.' Ares was the Greek god of war, one of the principal deities in the Greek pantheon.
The earliest known reference to the name Ares can be found in Homer's epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, written around the 8th century BC. In these ancient texts, Ares is portrayed as a fierce and violent god, often associated with bloodshed and destruction on the battlefield.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ares was Ares of Miletus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC. He was known for his work on the nature of the soul and was a contemporary of Socrates.
In the 4th century BC, another notable figure named Ares emerged: Ares of Alexandria, a Greek mathematician and astronomer. He is credited with developing the first known sundial and contributing to the development of early astronomical instruments.
During the Hellenistic period, which lasted from the 4th century BC to the 1st century BC, the name Ares became more widely used among the Greek-speaking populations of the Mediterranean region.
In the 2nd century AD, Ares of Tralles was a prominent Greek philosopher and physician. He is known for his work on medical ethics and his contributions to the field of ophthalmology.
Another significant figure with the name Ares was Ares of Cyrene, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 4th century AD. He was a prominent figure in the Neoplatonic school of philosophy and made important contributions to the study of mathematics and logic.
Throughout the centuries, the name Ares has been used by various individuals across different cultures and regions, often associated with themes of strength, courage, and military prowess. While it may not be as popular today as it once was, the name remains a testament to the enduring influence of ancient Greek mythology and culture.
People
Ares + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ares 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
Ares: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ares?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,329 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ares 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 46,767 US residents.
Is Ares a common name?
We classify Ares as "Rare". It ranks above 97.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,383 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ares most popular?
The single biggest year for Ares was 2024, when 1,158 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ares is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ares in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,221 people with the name Ares, or 1.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,357 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 Ares 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 Ares?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ares leans strongly male. 3,037 people counted with this name were male (94.5%), compared with 177 female bearers (5.5%). 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 Ares?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ares is Hispanic at 41.0%. The next largest groups are White (34.5%) and Two or More Races (9.3%). 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 Ares most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ares in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.0% (1,322 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 Ares in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ares a male name?
Yes, 96.4% of people registered as Ares 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 Ares still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ares 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 Ares 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 many people have Ares as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Ares on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.