Atalia
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "work of the Lord".
Name Census estimates that about 912 living Americans carry the first name Atalia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Atalia today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Atalia births was 2022 (62 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Atalia. 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 Atalia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
912
~ 1 in 375,827 Americans
Peak year
2022
62 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,746
Tracked since 1986
Census
Atalia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 586 people with the first name Atalia, which placed it at #18,401 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
#18,401
National first-name rank
People counted
586
586 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
56.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atalia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Atalia is Hispanic at 56.1%. The next largest groups are White (20.8%) and Black (16.0%). 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 Atalia 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 Atalia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino56.1% · 329
- White20.8% · 122
- Black or African American16.0% · 94
- Two or more races4.9% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Popularity
Atalia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Atalia from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 350 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Atalia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Atalia 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 Atalia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Atalias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Atalia, while New York, New Jersey, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Atalia
The name Atalia is of Hebrew origin, derived from the Hebrew name "Ataliah" or "Athaliah." It dates back to ancient times, with its roots stemming from the biblical period.
The name is composed of two parts: "Atal," meaning "God is great," and "Yah," a shortened form of the Hebrew name for God, "Yahweh." This combination suggests a meaning of "God is great" or "exalted by God."
In the Bible, Athaliah was a queen of Judah who ruled from 841 to 835 BC. She was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and her reign was marked by the worship of Baal and the persecution of followers of the Hebrew God. Despite her controversial reign, her name became a part of the Hebrew tradition and was later adopted in various forms across different cultures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Atalia can be found in ancient Greek records, where it appeared as "Athalia." This variation likely emerged as a result of the cultural exchange between the Greek and Hebrew civilizations.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Atalia. One such figure was Atalia Guevara (1920-2015), a Chilean writer and educator known for her contributions to children's literature. Another was Atalia Omer (born 1980), an Israeli-American scholar and professor of religion, conflict, and peace studies at the University of Notre Dame.
In the realm of arts and entertainment, Atalia Rachwal (born 1987) is a Polish actress and model, while Atalia Giddings (born 1993) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her appearance on the reality TV show "The Four: Battle for Stardom."
Another notable figure was Atalia Menteshashvili (1926-2007), a Georgian chess player and Woman International Master. She was one of the strongest female chess players of her time and played an important role in promoting the game among women.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Atalia throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural diversity.
People
Atalia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Atalia 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
Atalia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Atalia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 912 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Atalia 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 375,827 US residents.
Is Atalia a common name?
We classify Atalia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 922 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Atalia most popular?
The single biggest year for Atalia was 2022, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Atalia is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Atalia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 586 people with the name Atalia, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,401 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 Atalia 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 Atalia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Atalia appears almost entirely female. Of the 593 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Atalia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Atalia is Hispanic at 56.1%. The next largest groups are White (20.8%) and Black (16.0%). 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 Atalia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Atalia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.1% (329 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 Atalia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Atalia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Atalia in the SSA data are female. 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 Atalia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Atalia 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 Atalia 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 Atalia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.