# Is Plato a common name in Greece today?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-plato-a-common-name-in-greece-today/694355>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 29, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-plato-a-common-name-in-greece-today/694355 "2014-07-29T20:15:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-plato-a-common-name-in-greece-today/694355/1 "2014-07-29T20:15:22Z")

</div>

I think it was fairly common in his day, but is it long out of favor? Would it be an anachronism to name a child Plato today?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-plato-a-common-name-in-greece-today/694355/2 "2014-07-29T20:49:51Z")

</div>

It would be Platon in Greek, and [the Wiki diambiguation page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platon) for that name has no Greek with first name Platon and an Wikipedia article past the 8th century AD (the others are Orthodox non-Greeks and one Greek born in London)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-plato-a-common-name-in-greece-today/694355/3 "2014-07-29T20:50:17Z")

</div>

I believe the current Greek form of the name is “Platonas”. It’s also used as a surname but there seem to be a fair few Greeks who have it as a first name, such as the football player Platonas Karakatsanis, the actor Platonas Brakoulias, the government official Platonas Zafeiris, etc.

The name day of Platonas in the Orthodox calendar is November 18, fyi.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-plato-a-common-name-in-greece-today/694355/4 "2014-07-29T21:44:58Z")

</div>

Keep in mind Plato was a nickname. His real name was Aristocles.