The baby name Ariadne fits with so many trends in girl names right now, but remains just under the radar.
Thanks to Melissa for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME ARIADNE MEAN?
Even if you know your Greek mythology, Ariadne might not be immediately familiar. She’s not a goddess, just a princess.
But she plays a key role in a pivotal story.
Back in the day, the kingdom of Minos defeated Athens in battle. As a consequence, the Minoans victors demanded a steep price. Every year, Athens sent seven young men and seven young women for sacrifice to the Minotaur, a vicious half-bull who stalked his prey in a maze.
Shades of The Hunger Games.
Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos, herself never directly threatened.
Until one year, the valiant Theseus volunteered, intending to kill the beast and end the practice forever. Ariadne helped him, giving him a sword and a ball of red thread to trace his path into the maze, and back out to freedom.
That makes Ariadne a hero name, too.
Her name means “most holy,” from the Greek elements ari – most – and adnos – holy.
ARIADNE OVER TIME
Like many a Greek myth, Ariadne’s story ends tragically. But it’s oft-repeated in music and the arts. Richard Strauss wrote an opera about her, and there are poems and paintings and plays, too. In brief: Theseus abandons her. She marries the god Dionysus, and in some accounts, becomes a goddess, though a happily ever after proves elusive.
Beyond the labyrinth, women named Ariadne tend to be clever, at least a partial reference to the original.
Real and fictional bearers of the name include:
- Circa 130, a Saint Ariadne chose death rather than participate in pagan rituals.
- A Byzantine empress from around the year 500.
- In the 1694-95 season, The New Theatre in London debuted a play called She Ventures and He Wins. While it was not a success, it was credited to a “young lady” using the pen name Ariadne. It was one of very few plays written by a women to ever be performed in the era.
- Agatha Christie gave the name to a friend of detective Hercule Poirot, a mystery novelist who often assists Poirot in his investigations.
- In 2010’s Inception, Elliot Page wore the name as a character who designed labyrinths.
- A royal family, including Ariadne and her parents, is featured in the BBC’s mythological(ish) drama Atlantis.
- Popular Mexican actress Ariadne Diaz has starred in telenovelas like La mujer del Vendaval since the 2010s.
It’s the name of a butterfly and an algorithm, and there are other references throughout the natural world.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME ARIADNE?
The baby name Ariadne ranked in the US Top 1000 just a few times, from 2014 through 2018.
It first debuted in the US popularity data in the year 1960, when eight girls were named Ariadne. Peak popularity was 389 girls in 2016. As of 2024, just 189 girls received the name.
Given the rise of Penelope, Chloe, Zoe, and other goddess and mythological girls’ names, especially those ending with E, these seems like an oversight.
But there’s more to this story.
ARIANA
In romance languages, Ariadne becomes Ariana or Arianna. It’s a little smoother, more more flowing.
Like Ariadne, it shares the obvious nicknames – Ari and Aria. But the -ana/-anna ending makes it far more familiar, a choice along the lines of Eliana and Juliana, Mariana and Joanna, too.
Both spellings of Ariana became major, chart-topping favorites. They peaked in the 2010s, entering the US Top 50. The single-N Ariana is far more popular.
Credit, perhaps, to singer and actress Ariana Grande, who graduated from Nickelodeon to become a pop star and then co-star in Wicked.
UNDISCOVERED GEM
We love A names for girls, and choices like Daphne, Phoebe, and Persephone are still being re-discovered by parents seeking the perfect name to fit in and stand out at the same time.
The baby name Ariadne could fit right in.
What do you think of the baby name Ariadne?
This post was originally published on May 9, 2008. It was revised in August 2010; on March 7, 2016; and on April 22, 2026.
My first daughter’s middle name 🙂 my favorite name since childhood.
I LOVE Ariadne – love it as in potential next daughter love it!
I love the sound, the mythological background (positive, for once – hurrah!), the equally positive pop culture references (also rare!), and how unbelievably underused it is.
My only hesitation would be that I already have a little Juno. What do you think: is Juno and Ariadne together just too much mythology… or too much Ellen Page?!
Clever, feminine, four syllables… Love it. Perfect sister for Phoebe and Daphne.
Other variations on this name are Ariann (my name, the British version), Ariane (French), and Ariadna (Spanish). I have often gone by Ari.
I have always hated my name, it is such a pain to spell and everyone says it wrong, but I think I might have loved being an Ariadne or Ariadna.
Been utterly in love with Ariadne since she was first encounters in my children’s book of Greek Myths, and I’m predicting an upsurge in popularity if Atlantis get more than one series. I hope not too popular though because the whole reason my first daughter will be named that is because it is strong, feminine and unusual! In the generic English accent it is wonderfully crisp and interesting.
I am currently completely in love with Ariadne. I love the nickname Ari.
Okay, time for a trip in the way back machine…
Ari Meyers, the actress best know as Emma McArdle on the 80’s sitcom “Kate and Allie”, is actually named Ariadne.*
* I don’t know why I knew this… except to say I loved that show when I was a little kid.
Really! I loved Kate & Allie. I never knew that. And there’s still a fan site for Ari Meyers: https://www.arimeyersfansite.com/bio.html
That is a fabulous fact, Julie!
I just looked it up and Ellen Page IS Ariadne in Inception. It’s a highly appropriate name for her character seeing as her particular job is to create the mazes within which the inception takes place.
Oooh … thank you, thank you, thank you! I haven’t seen Inception somehow … totally missed that.
Like it! Very girly and original… My husband and I love mythical names… while we have no children yet, I am always trying to find new and beautiful mythical names to add to the list. The downside to this name would most definitely be the pronunciation of the name, not to mention she would be forever called by a nickname i am sure. With our last name always being mispronounced, I try to steer clear of first names that are very mispronouncible.
Nice name, but it seems too unique to be related to all the Adriannas and Ariannas. (And Aryana??? RUF kidding me?)
I fear that in Texas, the pronunciation would drift to Airy-Odd-Knee or Airy-Add-Knee.
Enjoy your beach vacation!
Yep. I’m in Texas and my pronunciation is definitely AIry-Add-Knee! (But I kind of like it that way!)
i thought that it was ariadne but the way they said it to my ears sounded like there was a c in the place of the d. the name is still lovely but i’m with you lola, just not for me though perfect for the right family (genevieve, oliver, tobias, lenora and ariadne just doesn’t sound totally right to me!)