Apollonia
About Apollonia
This name of a third-century Christian martyr has an romantic, appealing feel in the modern world. It first came to American attention via Prince's love interest in the film Purple Rain. It could make an unexpected route to sweet nickname Polly — or perhaps to the quirky apple!
St. Apollonia of Alexandria propelled her name into great popularity in the Middle Ages; her name is invoked against toothaches.
Apolonia, one 'l', is the name of a character in John Steinbeck's novel, The Pearl.
As of October 2026, Apollonia ranked #4770 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1435 in 1895, Nameberry popularity #973.
Editor's take: The name Apollonia is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "destroyer, strength; father's light".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | #4,770 | 28 | 17.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Apollonia.
- Eurydice
- Euphemia
- Antigone
- Desdemona
- Jocasta
- Hestia
- Artemisia
- Zenobia
- Atalanta
- Galatea
- Swanhilde
- Florentina
- Titania
- Sophronia
- Harmonia
- Severine
- Zephyrine
- Amandine
- Hyacinthe
- Isidora
Apollonia on lists
Famous Apollonias
- Saint Apollonia
2nd,century Christian martyr
- Patricia "Apollonia" Kotero
American singer/actress
- Apollonie Sabatier (born Aglaé)
French artists' model/muse
- Apollonia Saintclair
illustrator (erotica)
- Karin Apollonia Müller
German,born photographer
Apollonia in pop culture
- Apollonia
Greek feminine form of Apollo, meaning "destroyer"
- Apollonia
character in film "Purple Rain;" played by Apollonia Kotero
- Apollonia
character on TV's "Carnivale"
- Apollonia Vitelli
Corleone, character in "The Godfather" saga
- Apollonia
one of Carla's many middle names on "Cheers"
Variations & nicknames
- AppolineFrench
- ApollineFrench
- AbeloneDanish
- AppoliniaFrench
- ApoloniaSpanish