Sire
A masculine given name derived from the French word for "lord" or "master".
Name Census estimates that about 1,582 living Americans carry the first name Sire. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sire today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sire births was 2022 (159 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sire. 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 Sire with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Sire is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 216,659 Americans
Peak year
2022
159 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,679
Tracked since 1998
Census
Sire in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 810 people with the first name Sire, which placed it at #14,534 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
#14,534
National first-name rank
People counted
810
810 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
69.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sire
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sire is Black at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.3%) and Two or More Races (7.8%). 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 Sire 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 Sire at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.8% · 565
- Hispanic or Latino14.3% · 116
- Two or more races7.8% · 63
- White5.1% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 12
Popularity
Sire: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sire from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 761 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sire 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 Sire during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sires live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Sire, while Washington, Tennessee, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 44 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sire
The given name Sire has its origins in the Old French language, derived from the Latin word "senior," meaning "elder" or "older." It was initially used to address a person of high rank or authority, particularly a lord or ruler.
During the Middle Ages in Europe, the term "sire" was commonly used as a respectful form of address for a monarch, nobleman, or knight. It was a title that conveyed respect and deference to a person of superior social standing.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Sire can be found in the 11th century French epic poem "The Song of Roland," where it is used to address the Frankish emperor Charlemagne. This literary work played a significant role in establishing the use of the name in medieval French literature and culture.
In the 12th century, the name Sire gained further prominence through its association with the legendary King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In the Arthurian legends, the term "sire" was frequently used by the knights to address their king or fellow knights, reflecting the chivalric code of honor and respect.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Sire, although it was more commonly used as a title or honorific than as a given name itself. One example is Sire de Joinville (1224-1317), a French chronicler and biographer of King Louis IX of France.
Another prominent figure was Sire Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1309-1388), a sultan of the Delhi Sultanate in India, who was known for his architectural achievements, including the construction of the Firoz Shah Kotla fortress in Delhi.
In the realm of literature, Sire Thomas Malory (c. 1415-1471) was an English writer best known for compiling the influential work "Le Morte d'Arthur," which brought together various Arthurian legends and stories.
In the world of music, Sire Henry Purcell (1659-1695) was an English composer who made significant contributions to the development of Baroque music, particularly in the genres of opera and church music.
Finally, Sire Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), the renowned Scottish author, is perhaps one of the most famous individuals associated with the name Sire. He is best known for creating the iconic fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. John Watson.
While the name Sire is not commonly used as a given name today, its historical significance and association with nobility, respect, and authority have left an indelible mark on various cultures and literary traditions.
People
Sire + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sire as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sire: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sire?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,582 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sire 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 216,659 US residents.
Is Sire a common name?
We classify Sire as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,594 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sire most popular?
The single biggest year for Sire was 2022, when 159 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sire is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sire in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 810 people with the name Sire, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,534 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 Sire 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 Sire?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sire leans strongly male. 742 people counted with this name were male (91.8%), compared with 66 female bearers (8.2%). 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 Sire?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sire is Black at 69.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.3%) and Two or More Races (7.8%). 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 Sire most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sire in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.8% (565 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 Sire in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sire a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sire 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 Sire still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sire 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 Sire 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 Americans are named Sire?
See how many people have the name Sire on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.