Atom
The smallest indivisible unit of a chemical element.
Name Census estimates that about 1,011 living Americans carry the first name Atom. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Atom today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Atom births was 2017 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Atom. 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
- • Atom is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 339,025 Americans
Peak year
2017
68 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,157
Tracked since 1970
Census
Atom in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 755 people with the first name Atom, which placed it at #15,282 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
#15,282
National first-name rank
People counted
755
755 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atom
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Atom is White at 50.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.9%) and Two or More Races (10.6%). 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 Atom 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 Atom at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.9% · 384
- Hispanic or Latino24.9% · 188
- Two or more races10.6% · 80
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.7% · 58
- Black or African American3.7% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 17
Popularity
Atom: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Atom from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 515 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Atom remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Atom 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 Atom during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Atoms live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Atom, while Washington, New York, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Atom
The given name Atom is an uncommon and relatively modern name that has its origins in the word "atom," which is derived from the Greek word "atomos," meaning "indivisible." This name likely became popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, following the development of modern atomic theory by scientists such as John Dalton and Ernest Rutherford.
The earliest recorded use of the name Atom appears to be in the late 19th century, although it was still quite rare at the time. One of the earliest known individuals to bear this name was Atom Willard (1892-1962), an American jazz drummer who played with several prominent musicians, including Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke.
Another notable figure with the name Atom was Atom Egoyan (born 1960), a Canadian filmmaker and writer of Armenian descent. He is best known for his films such as "The Sweet Hereafter" and "Ararat," which explore themes of memory, identity, and the Armenian genocide.
In the world of literature, Atom Malalar (1936-2005) was a Tamil writer and poet from Sri Lanka. He was known for his contributions to modern Tamil literature and received several literary awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1995.
Atom Karnapravlouski (born 1986) is a Belarusian professional ice hockey player who has played in various leagues, including the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and the American Hockey League (AHL).
Atom Moore (born 1945) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is best known for his work with the bands Atom and the Orbits and Mighty Sam McClain.
While the name Atom is still considered quite uncommon, it has gained some popularity in recent years, likely due to its unique and scientific connotations. However, it remains a relatively rare name, particularly in comparison to more traditional names.
People
Atom + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Atom 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
Atom: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Atom?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,011 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Atom 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 339,025 US residents.
Is Atom a common name?
We classify Atom as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,023 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Atom most popular?
The single biggest year for Atom was 2017, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Atom is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Atom in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 755 people with the name Atom, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,282 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 Atom 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 Atom?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Atom leans strongly male. 743 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 11 female bearers (1.5%). 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 Atom?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Atom is White at 50.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.9%) and Two or More Races (10.6%). 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 Atom most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Atom in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.9% (384 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 Atom in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Atom a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Atom 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 Atom still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Atom 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 Atom 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 are named Atom?
Find out how many Americans are named Atom on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.