Given name & surname
Attila
“one who is fatherly”
Attila is used as a given name and a surname. One Hungarian interpretation is “one who is fatherly.”
Original HungarianAtilla
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hungarian interpretation is “one who is fatherly.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hungarian.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1958. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Attila through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 665
- 665 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2009
- 18 babies
- 2025
- 12
- #6,850 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +22%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 12 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6,850 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 21.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,497 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Attila’s family of names
In Hungarian usage, Attila has a diminutive in ATTI. Attila has a related form in Atilano. Attila has a related form in Attilio.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Attila has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Hungarian roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Atillavariant · Hungarian, Turkish
- Atticlipped form · Hungarian
- Attiliovariant · Hungarian
- Atilanovariant
- Attillalikely variant
- Attileovariant
- Attiliavariant
- Atilovariant
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Attila
- Attila5th-century ruler of the Hunnic Empire500–453
- Attila JózsefHungarian poet (1905–1937)
- Attila FiolaHungarian association football playerborn 1990
- Attila SzalaiHungarian association football player (born 1998)
- Attila CsiharHungarian metal vocalistborn 1971
- Attila PetschauerHungarian fencer (1904–1943)
- Attila ValterHungarian cyclistborn 1998
- Attila VajdaOlympic canoeistborn 1983
- Attila ÁbrahámHungarian Olympic champion sprint canoeistborn 1967
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
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