Ariadne is a Greek name usually explained as "most holy" or "very pure", from ari, very, and adnos, holy. In myth the Cretan princess Ariadne gave Theseus the thread that led him out of the Minotaur's labyrinth and later married the god Dionysus. Ariadne entered the US top 1000 in 2014, peaked at number 732 in 2016 and has since drifted down to number 1758 among girls' names in 2025.