Cyla
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "supreme ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 327 living Americans carry the first name Cyla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cyla today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cyla births was 2002 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cyla. 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.
People living today
327
~ 1 in 1,048,178 Americans
Peak year
2002
17 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,410
Tracked since 1988
Census
Cyla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 300 people with the first name Cyla, which placed it at #29,484 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
#29,484
National first-name rank
People counted
300
300 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cyla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cyla is White at 47.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.0%) and Hispanic (9.0%). 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 Cyla 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 Cyla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.7% · 143
- Black or African American32.0% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino9.0% · 27
- Two or more races7.3% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 4
Popularity
Cyla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cyla from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 128 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Cyla remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cyla 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 Cyla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cylas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Cyla
The name Cyla is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek language, with its roots dating back to the classical period of ancient Greece, around the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Greek word "kylos," which means "curved" or "rounded." This name was likely given to individuals who possessed a curvaceous or well-rounded physical appearance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cyla can be found in the ancient Greek play "Medea" by Euripides, written around 431 BCE. In this tragic work, Cyla is mentioned as a character, although her role is relatively minor. This literary reference provides evidence of the name's usage during the golden age of ancient Greek drama.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Cyla. One such figure is Cyla of Syracuse, a noblewoman who lived in the 4th century BCE. She was known for her involvement in political intrigues and her influence over the powerful tyrant Dionysius II of Syracuse.
In the realm of philosophy, Cyla of Sicyon was a renowned female philosopher who lived during the 4th century BCE. She was a member of the Pythagorean school of thought and was highly respected for her intellectual contributions.
During the Byzantine era, Cyla Palaiologina was a prominent figure in the 13th century CE. She was a member of the influential Palaiologos dynasty and played a significant role in the political affairs of the Byzantine Empire.
Another notable bearer of the name Cyla was Cyla of Anagni, an Italian noblewoman who lived in the 12th century CE. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support for various cultural endeavors.
It is worth noting that while the name Cyla has ancient Greek origins, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures throughout history, albeit with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation. This attests to the enduring legacy and cross-cultural appeal of this name.
People
Cyla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cyla 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
Cyla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cyla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 327 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cyla 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 1,048,178 US residents.
Is Cyla a common name?
We classify Cyla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 332 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cyla most popular?
The single biggest year for Cyla was 2002, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cyla is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cyla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 300 people with the name Cyla, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,484 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 Cyla 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 Cyla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cyla appears almost entirely female. Of the 307 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Cyla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cyla is White at 47.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.0%) and Hispanic (9.0%). 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 Cyla most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cyla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.7% (143 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 Cyla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cyla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cyla 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 Cyla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cyla 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 Cyla 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 Cyla?
You can see how many Americans are named Cyla on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.