Cyd
A diminutive of Cydia, Cyd is a feminine name of Greek origin meaning "glory".
Name Census estimates that about 420 living Americans carry the first name Cyd. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cyd today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cyd births was 1954 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cyd. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Cyd with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Cyd is about 65 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cyds were born before 1971.
People living today
420
~ 1 in 816,082 Americans
Peak year
1954
45 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1977 SSA rank
#9,929
Tracked since 1947
Census
Cyd in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 791 people with the first name Cyd, which placed it at #14,777 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,777
National first-name rank
People counted
791
791 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cyd
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cyd is White at 50.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.6%) and Black (16.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Cyd described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Cyd at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.8% · 402
- Hispanic or Latino17.6% · 139
- Black or African American16.4% · 130
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.3% · 89
- Two or more races3.4% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4
Popularity
Cyd: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cyd from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 256 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cyd by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Cyd during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cyds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Illinois, Texas recorded the most babies named Cyd, while Michigan, New York, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cyd
The name Cyd is derived from the Welsh language and has its roots in ancient Celtic culture. In Welsh, the name Cyd is a shortened form of the name Cedwyn, which means "blessed battle" or "blessed warrior." This suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon warriors or those born during times of conflict.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cyd can be found in the Mabinogion, a collection of ancient Welsh tales and mythology dating back to the 12th century. The name appears in the tale of "Culhwch and Olwen," where Cyd is mentioned as a warrior accompanying the protagonist on his quest.
Throughout history, the name Cyd has been associated with various notable figures. One of the earliest was Cyd ap Bleddyn (c. 1060-1115), a Welsh prince and military leader who played a significant role in the conflicts between the Welsh and Norman invaders in the 11th century.
Another notable bearer of the name was Cyd Prydderch (c. 1470-1550), a Welsh poet and bard who lived during the Tudor period. His works were highly regarded and contributed to the preservation of Welsh language and culture during a time of English dominance.
In the 19th century, Cyd Lewis (1813-1892) was a Welsh minister and author who played a prominent role in the Methodist revival movement in Wales. His writings and sermons had a profound impact on the religious and cultural landscape of the time.
The name Cyd also appears in the literary world with Cyd Godebog (1851-1921), a Welsh novelist and short story writer known for her vivid depictions of rural Welsh life and her contributions to the Welsh literary Renaissance of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
More recently, Cyd Hayman (1900-1976) was a Welsh artist and sculptor known for her works depicting Welsh culture, mythology, and landscape. Her sculptures can be found in various public spaces and galleries throughout Wales and beyond.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Cyd throughout history, reflecting its rich cultural heritage and enduring presence across various fields and eras.
People
Cyd + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cyd as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cyd: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cyd?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 420 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cyd going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 816,082 US residents.
Is Cyd a common name?
We classify Cyd as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 556 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cyd most popular?
The single biggest year for Cyd was 1954, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cyd is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cyd in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 791 people with the name Cyd, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,777 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Cyd in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Cyd?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cyd leans strongly female. 731 people counted with this name were female (91.7%), compared with 66 male bearers (8.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Cyd?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cyd is White at 50.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.6%) and Black (16.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Cyd most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cyd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.8% (402 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Cyd in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cyd a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cyd in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Cyd still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cyd in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Cyd can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Cyd?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.