Syrus
Of Phoenician origin meaning "supreme sun".
Name Census estimates that about 1,969 living Americans carry the first name Syrus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Syrus today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Syrus births was 2022 (122 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Syrus. 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 Syrus with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Syrus is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 174,075 Americans
Peak year
2022
122 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,724
Tracked since 1982
Census
Syrus in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,379 people with the first name Syrus, which placed it at #9,869 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
#9,869
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,379 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Syrus
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Syrus is White at 45.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.9%) and Black (14.2%). 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 Syrus 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 Syrus at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.3% · 625
- Hispanic or Latino18.9% · 260
- Black or African American14.2% · 196
- Two or more races11.4% · 157
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.8% · 107
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 34
Popularity
Syrus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Syrus from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 743 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Syrus remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Syrus 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 Syrus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Syrus' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Syrus, while Wisconsin, Oregon, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Syrus
The name Syrus originated from the ancient Greco-Roman world, deriving from the Greek word "Syrios," which means "Syrian." This suggests that the name likely first emerged in Syria or the surrounding regions during the classical era. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the first few centuries AD.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Syrus was Publilius Syrus, a Latin writer and philosopher who lived in the 1st century BC. He was a former Syrian slave who gained fame for his collection of moral sayings and maxims known as the "Sententiae."
Another prominent individual named Syrus was Saint Ephrem of Syria, a renowned theologian, poet, and hymnographer of the 4th century AD. Born in Nisibis (modern-day Turkey), he played a significant role in the development of the Syriac literary tradition and is revered as a saint in various Christian denominations.
In the realm of early Christianity, Syrus was also the name of a 3rd-century bishop of Pavia, in present-day Italy. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and is known for his efforts in spreading Christianity in the region.
Moving forward in history, Syrus the Patrician was a high-ranking Byzantine official and diplomat who lived in the 6th century AD. He served as a consul and played a crucial role in negotiating treaties with various barbarian tribes, helping to maintain the stability of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Another notable figure was Syrus of Genoa, a 12th-century Italian painter and miniaturist renowned for his work in illuminated manuscripts. His contributions to the art of manuscript illumination during the Romanesque period were significant, and his works can be found in various European libraries and museums.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the name Syrus. While the name may not be as common today, it holds a rich legacy spanning various cultures, religions, and periods throughout history, reflecting its ancient Syrian origins and the influential individuals who carried this name.
People
Syrus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Syrus 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
Syrus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Syrus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,969 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Syrus 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 174,075 US residents.
Is Syrus a common name?
We classify Syrus 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, 1,989 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Syrus most popular?
The single biggest year for Syrus was 2022, when 122 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Syrus 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 Syrus in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,379 people with the name Syrus, or 0.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,869 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 Syrus 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 Syrus?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Syrus appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,382 people counted with this name, 99.1% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Syrus?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Syrus is White at 45.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.9%) and Black (14.2%). 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 Syrus most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Syrus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.3% (625 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 Syrus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Syrus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Syrus 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 Syrus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Syrus 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 Syrus 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 Syrus?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.