Atlanta
A name derived from Greek mythology, referring to the mythical female figure bearing the East Atlas.
Name Census estimates that about 634 living Americans carry the first name Atlanta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Atlanta today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Atlanta births was 1995 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Atlanta. 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 Atlanta with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
634
~ 1 in 540,622 Americans
Peak year
1995
37 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,539
Tracked since 1895
Census
Atlanta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 589 people with the first name Atlanta, which placed it at #18,321 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
#18,321
National first-name rank
People counted
589
589 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atlanta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Atlanta is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Atlanta 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 Atlanta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.9% · 341
- Black or African American22.4% · 132
- Hispanic or Latino9.5% · 56
- Two or more races7.1% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
Popularity
Atlanta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Atlanta from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 228 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Atlanta 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 Atlanta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Atlantas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Atlanta
The name Atlanta is derived from the Greek word "Atlantis," which was the name of a legendary island mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written around 360 BCE. According to the ancient Greek myth, Atlantis was a powerful island nation that sank into the Atlantic Ocean due to the gods' wrath.
The earliest recorded use of the name Atlanta dates back to the late 18th century, when it was used as a reference to the mythical island of Atlantis. In 1837, the city of Atlanta, Georgia, was founded and named after the mythical island, symbolizing its emergence as a new and promising metropolis.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Atlanta was Atlanta Houghton (1853-1923), an American educator and women's rights activist. She was a pioneer in the field of physical education for women and helped establish the Department of Physical Training at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
Another prominent figure with the name Atlanta was Atlanta Everett (1875-1952), an American journalist and author. She was known for her work as a war correspondent during World War I and wrote several books, including "Gallipoli Memories" and "The Turkish Empire: Its Growth and Decay."
In the realm of literature, Atlanta Lester (1891-1968) was an American poet and educator. She published several collections of poetry and taught English at various universities, including Howard University and Fisk University.
Atlanta Caldwell (1907-1988) was a British artist and sculptor known for her abstract works. She studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London and exhibited her sculptures internationally.
Atlanta Navarro (1948-2008) was a Mexican actress and singer who appeared in numerous telenovelas (soap operas) and films. She was also a successful recording artist, releasing several albums throughout her career.
While the name Atlanta has its roots in Greek mythology and was initially associated with the legendary island, it has since been adopted and used by individuals from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds, reflecting its enduring appeal and significance.
People
Atlanta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Atlanta 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
Atlanta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Atlanta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 634 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Atlanta 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 540,622 US residents.
Is Atlanta a common name?
We classify Atlanta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 692 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Atlanta most popular?
The single biggest year for Atlanta was 1995, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Atlanta is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Atlanta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 589 people with the name Atlanta, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,321 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 Atlanta 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 Atlanta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Atlanta leans strongly female. 573 people counted with this name were female (97.3%), compared with 16 male bearers (2.7%). 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 Atlanta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Atlanta is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Black (22.4%) and Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Atlanta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Atlanta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.9% (341 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 Atlanta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Atlanta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Atlanta 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 Atlanta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Atlanta 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 Atlanta 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 Atlanta?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Atlanta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.