Cyan
A shade of greenish-blue, a combination of green and blue.
Name Census estimates that about 1,453 living Americans carry the first name Cyan. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 74.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Cyan today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cyan births was 1998 (98 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cyan. 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.
Key insights
- • Cyan is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 235,894 Americans
Peak year
1998
98 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,996
Tracked since 1986
Gender
Gender distribution for Cyan
Cyan is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,473 total registrations, 376 (25.5%) were male and 1,097 (74.5%) were female.
Cyan as a male name
- Ranked #2,996 in 2024
- 41 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (44 births)
Cyan as a female name
- Ranked #6,197 in 2024
- 19 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (98 births)
Popularity
Cyan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cyan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 592 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Cyan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cyan 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 Cyan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cyans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Cyan, while Washington, Virginia, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cyan
The name Cyan has its origins in the Greek word "kyanos," which means "dark blue substance" or "blue pigment." This name likely emerged during the classical period of ancient Greece, between the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, when the Greeks began exploring and developing various colors and dyes.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Cyan can be found in the works of the ancient Greek philosopher and naturalist, Theophrastus, who lived from 371 BCE to 287 BCE. In his writings, Theophrastus discussed the properties and uses of different pigments, including a blue-green pigment called "kyanos."
The name Cyan has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Cyan of Miletus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 6th century BCE and was considered one of the seven wise men of ancient Greece.
Another historical figure with the name Cyan was Cyan of Syracuse, a Greek mathematician and engineer from the 3rd century BCE. He is credited with inventing various mechanical devices, including the Archimedean screw, which was used for irrigation and water transfer.
In the realm of literature, Cyan was the name of a character in the ancient Greek epic poem, the Argonautica, written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BCE. In the poem, Cyan was a skilled archer and one of the Argonauts who accompanied Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece.
During the Renaissance period, there was a notable Italian painter and architect named Cyan Alberti, who lived from 1404 to 1472. He was a prominent figure in the Florentine Renaissance and is known for his work on several churches and buildings in Italy.
In more recent history, Cyan was the name of a French sculptor and painter, Cyan Rodin, who lived from 1840 to 1917. He is renowned for his sculptures, such as "The Thinker" and "The Kiss," which are considered masterpieces of modern art.
While the name Cyan has its roots in ancient Greek culture, it has transcended its origins and has been used across various societies and time periods, reflecting its enduring appeal and connection to the vibrant blue-green hue.
People
Cyan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cyan 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
Cyan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cyan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,453 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cyan 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 235,894 US residents.
Is Cyan a common name?
We classify Cyan as "Rare". It ranks above 92.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,473 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cyan most popular?
The single biggest year for Cyan was 1998, when 98 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cyan is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cyan a female name?
Yes, 74.5% of people registered as Cyan 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.
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.