Plato was the youngest son of Ariston and Perictione who both came from famous wealthy families who had lived in Athens for generations. He was named Aristocles. While Plato was a young man his father died and his mother remarried Pyrilampes. It was mostly in Pyrilampes' house that Plato was brought up.
Aristotle wrote that when Plato was a young man he studied under Cratylus who was a student of Heracleitus, famous for his cosmology, which is based on fire being the basic material of the universe. It is almost certain that Plato became friends with Socrates when he was young, because Plato's mother's brother, Charmides, was a close friend of Socrates.
Plato is actually a nickname given to him meaning “the broad” because he had broad shoulders. Plato went on to found Academy where he taught until his death. Academy was located in Athens and instructed on philosophy and the sciences.