All the Names
Menu

Greek Name Generator

Twenty Greek names at a time, with correct female surname forms, in modern and traditional styles, or as ancient names with a father's name or a city.

Gender
Style

  1. Nick Pavlou
  2. Kyriakos Alexopoulos
  3. Dimitris Papadakis
  4. Sofia Antoniou
  5. Phoebe
  6. Theseus
  7. Alexis of Corinth
  8. Aspasia
  9. Thanos Charalambous
  10. Chris Nikandrou
  11. Hektor of Sparta
  12. Zoe Pappa
  13. Konstantinos Nikolaidis
  14. Eudoxia of Ephesus
  15. Lambros Stefanidis
  16. Kimon Nikandrou
  17. Kris Alexiou
  18. Stelios Stavrou
  19. Chris Theodorou
  20. Elena Pavlou
Favorites (0)

How people pick greek names

Greek surnames tell you where a family came from. Papadopoulos means son of the priest, and endings such as -opoulos (the Peloponnese), -akis (Crete) and -idis (Asia Minor and the Black Sea) mark regional roots. Many others are patronymics in the genitive case: Georgiou is of George, Dimitriou is of Dimitrios. A woman's surname takes the female form, so Mr. Papadopoulos and Mrs. Papadopoulou, and Mr. Papadakis and Mrs. Papadaki. Genitive surnames such as Georgiou stay the same for everyone.

First names follow a strong custom. The first son is usually named for the paternal grandfather, the second for the maternal grandfather, and daughters likewise for the grandmothers, a habit that runs back to antiquity. Because most families draw from the same small stock of Orthodox saints and grandparents, there are many Georgioses and Marias, and the name day (the feast of the saint) is often celebrated as much as the birthday.

Nearly every name has a short everyday form, and the long form is used on documents. Georgios goes by Giorgos, Ioannis by Yiannis, Konstantinos by Kostas, Dimitrios by Dimitris, Nikolaos by Nikos. Transliteration into English varies (Yannis, Giannis, Ioannis), and all of them are the same name.

Ancient Greek names

The ancient style draws on names from classical Athens and Sparta: Perikles, Leonidas, Aspasia, Penelope and Thaleia. Many are theophoric, built on a god's name, such as Demetrios (of Demeter) or Apollodoros (gift of Apollo). In the ancient world a citizen had one personal name, and to be precise he added his father's name in the genitive (Perikles Xanthippou, Perikles son of Xanthippos) or his city (Leonidas of Sparta). The generator produces all three shapes.

These are useful for historical fiction, tabletop games set in Greek-inspired worlds and school projects, though modern Greeks with names like Leonidas or Penelope also exist.

Modern and traditional Greek names

The modern style favors names in current use, Sofia, Eleni, Alexandros and Giorgos among them. The traditional style leans on saints and grandparents' names, such as Panagiota, Vasiliki, Spyridon and Athanasios, which are still common but skew older. Pair either with a genitive surname if you want a common Greek family, and with a regional -akis or -opoulos surname if you want a place.

22 greek names to start from, with notes

  • Sofia PapadopoulouSofia is widely used in Greece today, and Papadopoulou is the female form of the very common Papadopoulos.
  • Alexandros GeorgiouAlexandros is a leading boys' name with a long history, and Georgiou is a patronymic surname.
  • Eleni NikolaidouEleni, the Greek Helen, is among the most common women's names, and -idou marks a family with Asia Minor roots.
  • Giorgos MakrisGiorgos is the everyday form of Georgios, and Makris means tall.
  • Katerina PetrakiKaterina is popular across generations, and Petraki, from the Cretan -akis ending, is the female form of Petrakis.
  • Nikos AlexiouNikos is the short form of Nikolaos, and Alexiou is a genitive surname that works for both sexes.
  • Dimitris VlachosDimitris comes from Demeter, and Vlachos, meaning shepherd from the Vlach communities, is a real surname across Greece.
  • Maria KaragianniMaria is the most common women's name in Greece, and Karagianni comes from the male Karagiannis.
  • Christos PavlidisChristos, meaning anointed, is a favorite in Orthodox families, and Pavlidis is a Black Sea surname.
  • Zoe MavridouZoe means life and has been used for centuries, and Mavridou comes from mavros, dark.
  • Konstantinos KarrasKonstantinos is a classic long-form boys' name with the shortened Kostas as a natural nickname.
  • Panagiota GalaniPanagiota is a traditional name linked to the Virgin Mary, with the everyday form Giota.
  • Spyridon KokkinosSpyridon honors Saint Spyridon of Corfu, and Kokkinos means red.
  • Vasiliki ZafeiropoulouVasiliki is a classic female name with the diminutive Vaso, and Zafeiropoulou is a long, distinctive surname.
  • Athanasios AnagnostopoulosAthanasios means immortal, and Anagnostopoulos means son of the reader, a church role.
  • Evangelia MichailidouEvangelia means good news, a saint's name with the short form Evi.
  • Perikles XanthippouPerikles son of Xanthippos, written the way an Athenian citizen would have been named.
  • Aspasia of MiletusAspasia was a woman of Miletus who lived in Periclean Athens, and the name is elegant and bookish.
  • Leonidas of SpartaA name that suits a soldier, from the lion, in the classic ancient format of name plus city.
  • Penelope DiodorouPenelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus, and the patronymic gives her a father.
  • Themistokles MenandrouA statesman's name in the ancient patronymic style, with a strong old-Athens ring.
  • Alex ChristodoulouAlex is used for both sexes in Greece, and Christodoulou is a genitive surname, meaning servant of Christ.

Building Greek names that are correct

  • Give women the female form of the surname when it has one: Papadopoulou, Nikolaidou, Petraki. Genitive surnames like Georgiou stay the same.
  • Follow the grandparent rule for realism. A firstborn son named Nikolaos after his grandfather feels right, and a second son named Georgios after the other one.
  • Add a short form for everyday speech: Dimitrios is Dimitris, Konstantinos is Kostas, Aikaterini is Katerina.
  • Use the ancient style for a single name, plus a father's name or city when you need to tell two people apart.
  • Use a region-linked ending for the surname: -akis for Cretan characters, -opoulos for the Peloponnese, -idis for a family from Asia Minor.

Questions people ask

What are common Greek last names?

Papadopoulos, Papadakis, Georgiou, Nikolaidis, Dimitriou, Ioannidis, Christodoulou, Konstantinou and Karagiannis are among the most common. Many end in -opoulos, -akis, -idis or a genitive -ou. Women's forms change, so Papadopoulos becomes Papadopoulou.

Why do Greek women's surnames end differently?

Greek surnames are inflected. A woman's surname is normally the genitive form, so Mr. Papadopoulos and Mrs. Papadopoulou. Surnames that are already in the genitive, like Georgiou, stay the same for men and women.

What are popular Greek first names?

Popular names include Georgios, Ioannis, Konstantinos, Dimitrios and Nikolaos for men, and Maria, Eleni, Katerina, Sofia and Vasiliki for women. Many families follow the tradition of naming children after their grandparents.

What is a Greek name day?

A name day is the feast day of the saint whose name a person carries. In Greece it is celebrated with a visit or a call, and for many people it matters as much as their birthday.

What do -opoulos and -akis mean in Greek surnames?

The ending -opoulos means son of and is associated with the Peloponnese, so Papadopoulos is son of the priest. The ending -akis is a diminutive linked with Crete, as in Papadakis. Both are patronymic in effect.

What are ancient Greek names?

Ancient Greek names include Perikles, Leonidas, Aspasia, Penelope and Sokrates. An ancient citizen had one name and was identified by his father's name (Perikles, son of Xanthippos) or his city, which the ancient style reproduces.

Related generators

  • Mythology namesTwenty new names per click, built from Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Celtic and Slavic sound patterns, with…
  • God namesTwenty god and goddess names per click, in three voices: a classical pantheon, gods with a title and a…
  • Roman namesReal-format Roman names in three styles: Republic tria nomina, later Empire names, and the single or freedman…
  • Latin namesLatin names with their meanings in three styles: real given names, single Latin words such as Lux and Nova…
  • Italian namesTwenty Italian names at a time, from popular modern names to mid-century classics and old-world Renaissance…
  • Hebrew namesHebrew names with their meanings in three styles: biblical, modern Israeli, and the ben and bat form used in…
  • Egyptian namesNames from the Nile in two styles: ancient Egyptian names of kings, queens and commoners with their meanings…
  • First namesTwenty English-language first names at a time, sorted by feel: what parents are choosing now, names that…
  • Last namesReal surnames from English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, German, Italian, Spanish, French and Scandinavian…
  • Female namesTwenty female names at a time, from names that have been on every school register for a century to vintage…

Embed this generator

Put this generator on your own site, blog or campaign wiki. Paste the code below into any page that accepts HTML. It stays free and keeps a link back to this page.

Sources

Updated September 2026 · How these names are made