Fotios
Of Greek origin, meaning "luminous" or "light-bearing".
Name Census estimates that about 83 living Americans carry the first name Fotios. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Fotios today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fotios births was 1969 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fotios. 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 Fotios. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
83
~ 1 in 4,129,570 Americans
Peak year
1969
9 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2010 SSA rank
#11,195
Tracked since 1969
Census
Fotios in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 369 people with the first name Fotios, which placed it at #25,627 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
#25,627
National first-name rank
People counted
369
369 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
98.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fotios
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fotios is White at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). 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 Fotios 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 Fotios at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.4% · 363
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
Popularity
Fotios: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fotios from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 49 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fotios 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 Fotios during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fotios
The name Fotios has its origins in the Greek language and culture, with roots that can be traced back to ancient times. The name is derived from the Greek word "photos," which means "light" or "enlightened." This connection to light and enlightenment likely stems from the name's association with the concept of divine or spiritual illumination.
One of the earliest recorded appearances of the name Fotios can be found in the 9th century, when Photios I, also known as Photius the Great, served as the Patriarch of Constantinople from 858 to 867 CE and again from 877 to 886 CE. Photios was a renowned scholar, theologian, and one of the most influential figures in the Byzantine Empire during his time.
Another noteworthy figure with the name Fotios was Photios Kontoglou, a Greek painter, iconographer, and writer who lived from 1895 to 1965. Kontoglou was instrumental in reviving the traditional Byzantine style of icon painting and was widely regarded as one of the most important Greek artists of the 20th century.
In the realm of literature, Fotios Kondoglou, a Greek novelist and short story writer who lived from 1895 to 1965, gained recognition for his works that explored the lives of the working class and rural communities in Greece.
Moving forward in time, Fotios Kouvelis was a Greek lawyer and politician who served as the leader of the Democratic Left party from 2010 to 2014. He played a significant role in the political landscape of Greece during a period of economic turmoil and austerity measures.
Another notable individual with the name Fotios was Photius of Constantinople, a 9th-century Byzantine theologian and scholar who served as the Patriarch of Constantinople from 858 to 867 CE and again from 877 to 886 CE. Photius was a prolific writer and is known for his extensive work, the "Bibliotheca" (or "Myriobiblon"), which contained excerpts and summaries of numerous ancient works, many of which have since been lost.
While the name Fotios has its roots in ancient Greek culture and has been borne by influential figures throughout history, it continues to be a popular name in Greece and among Greek communities around the world, carrying with it a rich cultural heritage and a connection to the concept of enlightenment and spiritual illumination.
People
Fotios + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fotios as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fotios: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fotios?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 83 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fotios 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 4,129,570 US residents.
Is Fotios a common name?
We classify Fotios as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 88 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fotios most popular?
The single biggest year for Fotios was 1969, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fotios is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fotios in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 369 people with the name Fotios, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,627 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 Fotios 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 Fotios?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fotios leans strongly male. 371 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 4 female bearers (1.1%). 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 Fotios?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fotios is White at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). 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 Fotios most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Fotios in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.4% (363 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 Fotios in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fotios a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fotios 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 Fotios still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fotios 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 Fotios 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 Americans are named Fotios?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.