Felix peaked in 2024 at rank 177, its highest position in modern SSA records. The name has been climbing steadily since the early 2000s with no signs of plateauing. Over 81,000 American boys have been named Felix, and the chart shape suggests the climb is structural rather than trend-driven. Felix is one of the cleaner Latin-revival success stories of the past two decades.
The Latin meaning
Felix comes from Latin felix meaning "happy" or "fortunate." The name was carried by multiple early Christian saints and at least four popes (Felix I through Felix IV), giving it a saint-name register that overlaps with names like Augustine and Vincent. The semantic transparency is unusual: parents picking Felix know exactly what the name means, and the meaning is unambiguously positive.
Notable bearers include composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), the cartoon character Felix the Cat (debut 1919), and Brazilian footballer Felix the Cat. Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian skydiver who jumped from the stratosphere in 2012, gave the name a 21st-century moment. Felix Salten, the Austrian author of Bambi (1923), adds a literary anchor.
The European-revival cluster
Felix sits inside a cluster of Latin and Germanic names that have been climbing on European-revival energy. Atlas, Silas, Otto, and Felix share the pattern: short, ending in S or X, with classical or Continental European associations. Parents picking from this cluster often have international or academic backgrounds and select these names specifically for their European register.
The Stranger Things character Eleven's brother Will is not named Felix, but the show's casting of Sadie Sink and Caleb McLaughlin alongside actor Charlie Heaton has surrounded the broader 2010s vintage cluster with cultural visibility. Felix specifically got a boost from the Korean rapper Felix of Stray Kids, which expanded the name's cross-cultural appeal among Gen Z parents.
The counter-reading
The honest concern with Felix is the cartoon-character coding. Felix the Cat has been visible since 1919, and some American parents still associate the name primarily with the animation. Younger parents are increasingly free of that association, but it does not fully disappear. The Latin-origin cluster and rising names list place Felix in context.