Ares

Linear B tablets from Mycenaean Pylos, dated to the 13th century BCE, record the form a-re, establishing the name’s presence in Bronze Age Greek religion.

In classical mythology, Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera and the lover of Aphrodite.

Unlike the Roman Mars, who held a dignified civic role, the Greek Ares was often portrayed unfavorably in literature, including in Homer’s Iliad (composed around the 8th century BCE), where he is wounded in battle by the mortal Diomedes.

His cult centers included Sparta, Thrace, and the Areopagus hill in Athens, named after the god.

Literary and cultural afterlives include Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers (1844) in which the name appears peripherally, and more recently the film Wonder Woman (2017), where Ares serves as the principal antagonist.

The name also features in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, beginning with The Lightning Thief (2005), which introduced classical mythology to a new generation of young readers.

Ares first appeared in the U.S. SSA top 1000 for boys in 2013 and climbed rapidly to reach roughly number 390 by 2023.

The name belongs to the broader revival of Greek mythological names including Atlas, Apollo, and Orion, and holds particular strength in California, Texas, and Florida.

It is also used in Spain and Latin America, where the classical pronunciation with 2 syllables is preserved.

Contemporary bearers include the son of boxer Vitali Klitschko and several children of public figures who adopted the name during the late 2010s.