Cypher
A name derived from the word "cipher", meaning a secret or encoded message.
Name Census estimates that about 170 living Americans carry the first name Cypher. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cypher today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cypher births was 2022 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cypher. 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.
People living today
170
~ 1 in 2,016,202 Americans
Peak year
2022
27 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,263
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Cypher: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cypher from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 96 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
Cypher 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 Cypher during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cypher
The given name Cypher is derived from the Greek word "kryptos," which means "hidden" or "secret." It is believed to have originated in ancient Greece, where it was used as a name for those involved in cryptography or the art of writing and solving codes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cypher can be found in the works of ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Euclid, who lived around 300 BC. In his work "Elements," he discussed the principles of cryptography and mentioned individuals known as "cyphers" who were skilled in this field.
During the Middle Ages, the name Cypher gained popularity among scholars and intellectuals who were fascinated by the study of codes and ciphers. It was often associated with individuals who possessed a deep understanding of mathematics, logic, and linguistics.
One notable figure who bore the name Cypher was Al-Kindi (801-873 AD), an Arab philosopher and mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of cryptography. He is credited with being one of the earliest writers on frequency analysis, a technique used in code-breaking.
In the Renaissance period, the name Cypher became associated with individuals involved in the arts and sciences. One such person was Girolamo Cardano (1501-1576), an Italian mathematician, physician, and gambler, who wrote extensively on probability theory and cryptography.
Another prominent figure with the name Cypher was Sir Francis Walsingham (c. 1532-1590), an English politician and principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I. He was known for his extensive spy network and the use of ciphers in intelligence gathering.
During the 18th century, the name Cypher gained further recognition with the work of Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875), an English inventor and scientist who developed the Wheatstone-Cooke cryptographic system, which was widely used in telegraphy.
Other notable individuals with the name Cypher include William Friedman (1891-1969), an American cryptologist who made significant contributions to the field of cryptanalysis during World War II, and Alan Turing (1912-1954), a British mathematician and computer scientist who played a crucial role in breaking the German Enigma code during the same conflict.
People
Cypher + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cypher 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
Cypher: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cypher?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 170 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cypher 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 2,016,202 US residents.
Is Cypher a common name?
We classify Cypher as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 171 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cypher most popular?
The single biggest year for Cypher was 2022, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cypher is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Cypher in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cypher a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cypher 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 Cypher still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cypher 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 Cypher 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Cypher?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Cypher on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.