Greek Names and Surnames

Greek names belong to the Hellenic (Indo-European) linguistic family, reflecting centuries of cultural evolution, geographic migration, and historical naming traditions.

Language Family: Hellenic (Indo-European)

First Names: 11 published

Surnames: 1 published

Historical and linguistic background

Greek names boast an uninterrupted written history stretching from the Mycenaean Linear B tablets and Homeric epics through classical Athenian democracy, Hellenistic empires, and Byzantine Christendom. Ancient Greek names were typically compound constructions pairing two noble or virtuous concepts, uniting elements denoting manliness (andreios in Andrew), victory (nike in Nicholas), wisdom (sophia in Sophia), defense (alexein in Alexander), and glory (kleos in Pericles). The New Testament was composed in Koine Greek, which permanently canonized names such as Peter (Petros), Stephen (Stephanos), and Christopher (Christophoros). The intellectual prestige of classical Greek philosophy, mythology, and literature spurred repeated waves of revival in post-Renaissance Western Europe and North America, ensuring that Greek given names consistently populate the upper tiers of American popularity.

Naming traditions and patterns

Employs dithematic compound roots reflecting virtue, courage, and victory, alongside patronymic suffixes and hagiographical Christian names originating in the Koine Greek New Testament.

Published Greek first names

Greek first names published on FastNames
Name	Meaning	Rank (2025)	US Births
Alexander	Derived from Greek Alexandros (Ἀλέξανδρος), meaning 'defender of men', from alexein ('to ward off', 'defend') and aner ('man', genitive andros).	30th	740,668
Alexis	Derived from ancient Greek alexein, signifying 'defender', 'helper', or 'protector'.	554th	412,632
Andrew	Derived from Greek Andreas (Ἀνδρέας), meaning 'manly', 'valiant', or 'courageous', from andreios ('manly') and aner ('man').	73rd	1,334,415
Anthony	Derived from the Roman gens name Antonius, of uncertain Etruscan origin; historically associated with Greek anthos ('flower') which prompted the intrusive 'h' spelling.	46th	1,495,156
Christian	Derived from Latin Christianus, signifying 'follower of Christ' or 'belonging to Christ', from Greek Christos ('anointed one').	96th	473,843
Christopher	Derived from Late Greek Christophoros (Χριστοφόρος), meaning 'bearing Christ' or 'Christ-bearer', formed from Christos and pherein ('to carry' or 'to bear').	68th	2,079,103
Elizabeth	Derived from biblical Hebrew Elisheva (אֱלִישֶׁבַע), composed of El ('God') and sheva ('oath' or 'seven'), signifying 'my God is an oath' or 'consecrated to God'.	17th	1,693,973
Lucas	Derived from Latin Lucas and Greek Loukas (Λουκᾶς), meaning 'man from Lucania' (a region in southern Italy) or related to Latin lux ('light').	10th	331,628
Nicholas	Derived from Greek Nikolaos (Νικόλαος), composed of nike ('victory') and laos ('people'), signifying 'victory of the people'.	112th	929,199
Sophia	Derived directly from Greek sophia, meaning 'wisdom', 'knowledge', or 'sound judgment'.	5th	439,619
Thomas	Derived from Aramaic Te'oma (תְּאוֹמָא), meaning 'twin', adapted into Ancient Greek as Thomas (Θωμᾶς).	34th	2,367,087

Published Greek surnames

Greek surnames published on FastNames
Surname	Meaning	Census Rank	US Bearers
Phillips	Patronymic surname derived from the Greek personal name Philip (Philippos, 'lover of horses'), meaning 'son of Philip'.	52nd	360,802

Scholarly references and sources

A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names — P.M. Fraser, E. Matthews (1987), pp. 1-14.
The Oxford Dictionary of First Names — Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges (2006), pp. 378-381.