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 [ 3 syll. ac-hil-les, ach-ill-es ] The boy name Achilles is pronounced as ahKIHLiyZ KEY. Achilles is a German and Latinized name of Old Greek origin. The meaning of Achilles is pain, lipless. Original forms of the name include Achilleus (Old Greek), Akhilleus (Old Greek), and Archilleus (Old Greek). The name is of disputed origin; it could be derived from the Greek 'achos' (pain), or else from 'a' (un) and 'kheile' (lips) and thus meaning 'lipless' - possibly referring to the legend that he was never suckled. It could also have been named after the River Akheloös. In Greek mythology, Achilles was the son of the sea nymph Thetis and the mortal Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons. In the Iliad, Homer described him as the greatest of warriors who killed Hector and led the Greek army in the Trojan war. In other legends, Achilles was invulnerable except for his heel, hence the term 'Achilles' heel' for a minor weakness in something otherwise impenetrable. The name was borne by various early saints. It has been more widely used in continental Europe, especially in Germany and France, rather than in England. In Latin, the feminine form of Achilles is Achillea. The French and Italian Achille, the Italian Achilleo, the Finnish Akilles, and the Spanish Aquiles are variant forms of the name. Another variant of Achilles is the English and German short form Achill. Achilles is not often used as a baby boy name. It is not in the top 1000 names. Baby names that sound like Achilles include the Greek Aggelos, the Indian Akhilesh, the Indian Akilesh, the Finnish Akilles, and the Spanish Aquiles. A famous person named Achilles is Achilles, Mythical Figure, Thessaly, Greece. KEY: English pronunciation for Achilles: AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; K as in "key (K.IY)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)" ; Z as in "zee (Z.IY)"   |
