Given name & surname
Achilles
Achilles is a masculine given name from Latin, ultimately from Ancient Greek. It is used in English, Polish, Cebuano, and Kashubian.
Original GreekΑχιλλέας
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
How it developed
In English usage, Achilles developed from Ἀχιλλεύς.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1912. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Achilles through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,844
- 3,844 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 257 babies
- 2025
- 151
- #1,290 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −23%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 151 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,290 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 22.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 257 in 2018. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (19). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,379 as a first name in 2020; 593 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Achilles’s family of names
Achilles has a later derivative in Aquiles. Achilles has a related form in Akil. In Latin usage, Achilles has a conventional equivalent in the Galician form Aquiles.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Achilles has relatives in 36 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Achilles comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 15
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 28
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Ἀχιλλεύςroot · Ancient Greek
- ΑχιλλέαςGreek
- AhilSlovene, Croatian
- AkhilleusFinnish
- AkilesBasque
- Achilliequivalent
- ⲁⲭⲓⲗⲗⲉⲩⲉequivalent
- Aquil·lesCatalan
Show 20 moreShow fewer
People named Achilles
- Émile Prisse d'AvennesFrench egyptologist (1807-1879)
- Achilles PuchałaPolish beatified person1911–1943
- Achilles StatiusPortuguese humanist1524–1581
- Achilles GasserGerman physician and astrologian (1505-1577)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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