Cyle
An English diminutive of the Greek name Kyle, meaning "fruitful, productive."
Name Census estimates that about 1,920 living Americans carry the first name Cyle. It is a predominantly male name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Cyle today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cyle births was 1989 (103 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cyle. 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 Cyle with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 178,518 Americans
Peak year
1989
103 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,718
Tracked since 1960
Census
Cyle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,677 people with the first name Cyle, which placed it at #8,614 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
#8,614
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,677 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cyle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cyle is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Cyle 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 Cyle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.3% · 1,296
- Black or African American9.9% · 166
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 84
- Two or more races4.6% · 77
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 25
Gender
Gender distribution for Cyle
Out of the 1,986 babies given the name Cyle since 1880, 99.2% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Cyle as a male name
- Ranked #12,718 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1990 (103 births)
Cyle as a female name
- Ranked #12,813 in 1989
- 5 female births in 1989
- Peak: 1986 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cyle leans strongly male. 1,625 people counted with this name were male (97.2%), compared with 46 female bearers (2.8%).
Popularity
Cyle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cyle from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 792 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cyle 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 Cyle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cyles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. California, Illinois, Michigan recorded the most babies named Cyle, while Washington, Tennessee, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cyle
The name Cyle has its origins in the ancient Gaelic language, which was spoken in parts of modern-day Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. It is believed to have emerged around the 5th century AD, during the early medieval period in the British Isles. The name is derived from the Gaelic word "coille," which means "woods" or "forest," reflecting the strong connection between the ancient Celtic people and nature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cyle can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In this text, a figure named Cyle mac Áedáin is mentioned as a prominent chieftain in the year 668 AD. However, it is worth noting that the spelling and pronunciation of the name may have varied slightly during this period.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Cyle was relatively uncommon, but it did appear sporadically in various historical records and documents. One notable figure was Cyle of Kildare, a 9th-century Irish monk and scholar who was renowned for his knowledge of the Scriptures and his contributions to the preservation of ancient manuscripts.
In the 12th century, a figure named Cyle Ó Conchobhair was recorded as a prominent leader in the Kingdom of Connacht, which was one of the five ancient kingdoms of Ireland. His name is mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters, a highly regarded chronicle of medieval Irish history.
Another notable figure with the name Cyle was a Scottish warrior and chieftain who lived in the 14th century. Cyle MacDonald fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Scottish Wars of Independence against the English. His bravery and loyalty were celebrated in various ballads and folk tales of the time.
During the 16th century, a poet and bard named Cyle Dall Ó Maoilchonaire gained recognition for his elegant and evocative compositions in the Irish language. His works were widely appreciated and helped to preserve the rich literary traditions of the Gaelic culture.
It is important to note that while the name Cyle has deep historical roots, its usage has been relatively uncommon throughout most of recorded history. However, it serves as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage and linguistic diversity of the Celtic peoples who once inhabited the British Isles and beyond.
People
Cyle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cyle 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
Cyle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cyle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,920 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cyle 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 178,518 US residents.
Is Cyle a common name?
We classify Cyle as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,986 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cyle most popular?
The single biggest year for Cyle was 1989, when 103 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cyle is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cyle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,677 people with the name Cyle, or 0.56 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,614 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 Cyle 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 Cyle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cyle leans strongly male. 1,625 people counted with this name were male (97.2%), compared with 46 female bearers (2.8%). 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 Cyle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cyle is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Cyle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cyle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.3% (1,296 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 Cyle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cyle a male name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Cyle in the SSA data are male. 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 Cyle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cyle 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 Cyle 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 common is the name Cyle?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Cyle at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.