BabyNameScore

Cyrus

SY·rus · 2 syllables

Cyrus is comfortably familiar.

86/100

Strong Practical Fit

Balanced across pronunciation, everyday use, lifetime fit and international use.

Name Profile

  1. Pronunciation & Spelling

    Learnable with light exposure

    A well-established name with a clear, learnable pronunciation: SY-rus.

    76/100

  2. Everyday Use

    Low risk

    Shortens naturally in everyday use, to one established short form.

    95/100

  3. Growing Up

    Strong lifetime fit

    Works comfortably across child and adult settings.

    82/100

  4. International Use

    Broad international fit

    Works cleanly across the assessed languages and writing systems.

    85/100

NAME DETAILS

COMMON FORMS
Cy
OTHER-LANGUAGE FORMS
Ciro
Kurosh / Kourosh
Kir
ORIGIN & HISTORY

About the name

Cyrus is the Latinized/Anglicized form of the Old Persian royal name Kūruš, most famously borne by Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire; its precise Old Persian literal meaning remains a genuine, unresolved scholarly dispute among 'young/child,' 'humiliator of the enemy,' 'like the Sun,' and a possible non-Persian Elamite root. Its adoption into English usage came via Puritan Bible-based naming, drawing on Cyrus's Hebrew Bible role as liberator of the captive Jews, layered atop its classical-historical prestige. Cyrus's Old Persian literal meaning is a genuine, unresolved scholarly dispute ('young/child', 'humiliator of the enemy', 'like the Sun', or a non-Persian Elamite 'he who bestows care'); no single interpretation is treated as definitive across the sources reviewed.

  1. 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 (Kūruš, Old Persian cuneiform). Cyrus's literal Old Persian meaning is genuinely disputed among scholars, and sources do not converge on a single answer: proposed meanings include 'young' or 'the young one, child' (from a common Iranian root kur-, 'be born,' comparable to Kurdish kur, 'son/little boy'), 'humiliator (of the enemy in verbal contest)' (from an Indo-European root, per linguist Karl Hoffmann), and 'like the Sun' (per the ancient Greek historians Ctesias and Plutarch, relating it to the Persian noun for 'sun'); some scholars additionally argue for a non-Persian Elamite origin meaning 'he who bestows care.' Cyrus II ('Cyrus the Great,' c. 600-530 BC) founded the Achaemenid Empire around 559 BC after inheriting the Persian throne at Pasargadae, transforming a regional kingdom into what became the largest empire in history at the time by conquering the Median Empire, Lydia, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, eventually stretching from Asia Minor to the Indus River. He is separately noted in the Hebrew Bible for liberating captive Jews held in Babylon and permitting their return to Israel.
  2. Mythological and religious contextCyrus the Great is credited in the Hebrew Bible (notably in the Book of Ezra and Isaiah) with freeing the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity and permitting their return to Jerusalem, a role that gave the name particular resonance for English-speaking Puritans and other Bible-influenced naming traditions.
POPULARITY

Cyrus over time

United States
#268RANK

Rank #268 gives national context, not a classroom forecast.

Recognizable without feeling automatic. Ranked #268 in the U.S., 2025.

SourceU.S. Social Security Administration · 2025 release

Pronunciation & Forms

SAY IT

SY·rus

STRESS ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE

COMMON FORMS
  • Cy
OTHER-LANGUAGE FORMS
  • Kuruš / KyrosOld Persian/Greek forms
  • CiroIT/PT/ES
  • KoreshBiblical Hebrew
  • Kurosh / KouroshPersian
  • KirRU
PRACTICAL LIFE

How This Name Lives

AT SCHOOL & DAY TO DAY

On a child, Cyrus is a distinctive two-syllable name with an easy short form (Cy) available for informal use, while retaining a formal, historically resonant full form.

INTO ADULTHOOD

As an adult name, Cyrus carries genuine historical weight and gravitas from its association with Cyrus the Great, reading as classical and dignified rather than trendy, alongside a lighter modern layer from its casual short form Cy.

Cultural Footprint

Cyrus entered English usage among Puritans following the Protestant Reformation, drawing on the name's prominence in the Hebrew Bible (where Cyrus the Great is credited with freeing the captive Jews of Babylon); its modern American usage carries both this Biblical-Puritan naming layer and a classical/historical layer tied directly to Cyrus the Great.

TRACEABLE ORIGIN
  1. Cyrus the Great (c. 600-530 BC)founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire

More about Cyrus

FORMALITY

Functions as a complete, formal given name in its full form, with 'Cy' available as a casual, informal short form.

Names around it

KyraDarius
EDITORIAL SYNTHESIS

The Decision

Cyrus is a name that holds up in everyday use. Surname-dependent compatibility remains unassessed until a surname is added.

STRENGTH

Uses standard characters that systems widely handle cleanly. Fits cleanly on every form, badge, and signature line.

CONSIDERATION

Pronounced "SY-rus" — may invite a pronunciation check on first meeting.

BEST FIT

Everyday Use is the strongest-scoring part of this name — no obvious nickname traps, rhymes, or initial issues detected.

FULL-NAME CHECK

See how it works with a surname.

Cyrus