Adonis
Adonis was the 241st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,462 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 175th with 2,102 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 457 places. More babies were named Adonis in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning lord (Semitic adon, probably) · Greek, Phoenician
Say it uh-DAH-nis /əˈdɑnɪs/
- Rank in 2025
- #241 boys, down 18 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,462boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20232,102 babies
- Total since 1880
- 21,694babies recorded
What does the name Adonis mean?
Adonis is the beautiful young man of Greek myth, loved by Aphrodite and killed by a wild boar while hunting; Wikipedia notes that he was the classical ideal of male beauty. His name is generally connected with the Semitic word adon, 'lord', and Wikipedia gives its Phoenician form alongside the Greek one. As a first name it is used mainly for boys in the US.
Ἄδωνις (Ancient Greek, “Adonis”)𐤀𐤃𐤍 (Phoenician, “ʾadon, lord”)
How sure is this? Probable. The link to Semitic adon 'lord' is the usual view; Wiktionary gives only the Greek form.
Related names: Adon.
See also: Greek names, names that mean king or queen.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Adonis', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Adonis', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Adonis
The usual nicknames for Adonis are Donnie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Adonis in the last five years, 5 were named Donnie, against 67 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donnie · also for Donovan, Donald, Don | Modern | #1,796 | 449 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Adoniss go by each one.
Adonis popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 101 since 1966.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #241 | 1,462 |
| 2020 | #223 | 1,677 |
| 2010 | #804 | 269 |
| 2000 | #756 | 222 |
| 1990 | #1,201 | 82 |
| 1980 | #1,227 | 56 |
| 1970 | #1,848 | 23 |
| 1960 | #3,338 | 7 |
| 1950 | #3,689 | 5 |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | #3,211 | 8 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Adonis, counting every spelling?
Adonis is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #251 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #241 for Adonis on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,515 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adonis | 1,462 | #241 | 8,624 |
| Adonnis | 32 | #3,514 | 200 |
| Adonys | 16 | #5,612 | 79 |
| Addonis | 5 | #12,034 | 25 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Adonis?
1,462 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Adonis (0.41 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Adonis born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 6 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Adonis.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Adonis?
About 21,200 people born in the US named Adonis are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 4 and 15. That makes Adonis a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Adonis by state
How common Adonis was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Delaware (2.8×), District of Columbia (2.6×), Nevada (2.4×), New Mexico (2.3×), Hawaii (1.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Idaho, South Dakota, Montana.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Adonis: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Adonis, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Adonis · Sibling names for Adonis
Questions about the name Adonis
What does Adonis mean?
Adonis means “lord (Semitic adon, probably)” (Greek, Phoenician origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Adonis?
Adonis was the 241st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,462 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 175th with 2,102 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 457 places. More babies were named Adonis in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Adonis a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Adonis in the US.
Where is Adonis most popular?
In 2021–2025, Adonis was most common in Delaware (2.84 per 1,000 boys), followed by District of Columbia and Nevada.