Syriah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "exalted" or "illustrious".
Name Census estimates that about 745 living Americans carry the first name Syriah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Syriah today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Syriah births was 2009 (52 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Syriah. 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 Syriah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
745
~ 1 in 460,073 Americans
Peak year
2009
52 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,443
Tracked since 1997
Census
Syriah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 489 people with the first name Syriah, which placed it at #20,938 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
#20,938
National first-name rank
People counted
489
489 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Syriah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Syriah is Black at 71.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.3%) 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 Syriah 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 Syriah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.4% · 349
- Hispanic or Latino12.3% · 60
- Two or more races7.8% · 38
- White6.1% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 5
Popularity
Syriah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Syriah 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 332 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Syriah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Syriah 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 Syriah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Syriahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Florida, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Syriah, while Georgia, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Syriah
The name Syriah has its origins traced back to ancient Semitic languages spoken in the Middle East and North Africa. It is believed to have derived from the Aramaic word "syr" or the Hebrew word "sur," both meaning "rock" or "fortress." This connection suggests that the name may have carried connotations of strength, durability, and resilience in its earliest usage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Syriah can be found in the Bible, specifically in the book of Ezra. It is mentioned as the name of a region located in ancient Mesopotamia, likely corresponding to the historical region of Syria. This biblical reference dates back to the 5th century BCE.
During the Byzantine era, the name Syriah gained prominence as a personal name among Christian communities in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Saint Syriah of Gaza (c. 550-614 CE) was a Christian monk and ascetic celebrated for his piety and miracles. His life and deeds were recorded in hagiographies, further popularizing the name.
In the 9th century CE, Syriah ibn al-Hakam was a renowned Arab mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of algebra. His works, including the influential treatise "Kitab fi'l-Jabr wa'l-Muqabala" (The Book of Algebra), played a crucial role in the development of algebraic notation and problem-solving techniques.
Another notable figure bearing the name Syriah was Syriah al-Razi (c. 854-925 CE), a Persian polymath, philosopher, and scholar. He was a pioneering figure in the fields of medicine, alchemy, and philosophy, and his works, such as "Al-Hawi" (The Comprehensive Book), had a lasting impact on medical knowledge in the Islamic world and beyond.
In the 12th century, Syriah al-Qunawi was a prominent Sufi mystic and philosopher from Konya (present-day Turkey). He was a disciple of the renowned Persian poet and mystic Rumi and contributed significantly to the development of Sufi thought and literature through his writings and teachings.
While the name Syriah has ancient roots and historical significance, its usage as a personal name has been relatively rare in modern times. However, its unique sound and connection to the rich cultural heritage of the Middle East and North Africa have continued to inspire parents in their choice of names for their children.
People
Syriah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Syriah 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
Syriah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Syriah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 745 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Syriah 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 460,073 US residents.
Is Syriah a common name?
We classify Syriah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 752 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Syriah most popular?
The single biggest year for Syriah was 2009, when 52 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Syriah is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Syriah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 489 people with the name Syriah, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,938 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 Syriah 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 Syriah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Syriah leans strongly female. 488 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 5 male bearers (1.0%). 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 Syriah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Syriah is Black at 71.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.3%) 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 Syriah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Syriah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.4% (349 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 Syriah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Syriah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Syriah 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 Syriah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Syriah 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 Syriah 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 share the name Syriah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.