Cyrilla
A feminine given name possibly derived from the Greek name Cyrillus.
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the first name Cyrilla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cyrilla today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cyrilla births was 1917 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cyrilla. 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
125
~ 1 in 2,742,035 Americans
Peak year
1917
26 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,413
Tracked since 1895
Popularity
Cyrilla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cyrilla from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 157 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cyrilla 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 Cyrilla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cyrillas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Cyrilla
The name Cyrilla is believed to have originated from the Latin word "cyrillus," which is derived from the Greek name "Kyrillos." This name can be traced back to ancient Greece and was popularized by Saint Cyril, a Christian theologian and missionary who lived in the 4th century AD.
The name Cyrilla is also closely associated with the botanical genus Cyrilla, which includes several species of small trees and shrubs native to the southeastern United States and the Caribbean. This genus was named in honor of Domenico Cirillo, an 18th-century Italian botanist and physician.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cyrilla can be found in the writings of Saint Ambrose, a 4th-century bishop of Milan. He mentioned a woman named Cyrilla in his work "De Virginibus" (On Virgins).
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Cyrilla. One such person was Cyrilla Petitjean (1857-1930), a French painter and engraver known for her portraits and landscape paintings. Another was Cyrilla Barricklow (1887-1939), an American journalist and author who wrote extensively about life in the Appalachian region.
In the literary world, Cyrilla Garnett (1884-1946) was a renowned English translator who introduced the works of numerous Russian authors, including Anton Chekhov and Ivan Bunin, to English-speaking audiences. Her translations were highly praised for their accuracy and literary quality.
Another notable Cyrilla was Cyrilla Monier (1907-1989), a French painter and sculptor who was part of the Parisian avant-garde art scene in the mid-20th century. Her works were heavily influenced by Cubism and Surrealism, and she was known for her bold use of color and experimental techniques.
In the field of education, Cyrilla Brewer (1882-1963) was an American educator and activist who advocated for equal educational opportunities for African Americans in the segregated South. She served as the president of Voorhees College, a historically black college in Denmark, South Carolina, for over three decades.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Cyrilla. While not as common as some other names, Cyrilla has a rich history and has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including the arts, literature, journalism, and education.
People
Cyrilla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cyrilla 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
Cyrilla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cyrilla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 125 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cyrilla 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 2,742,035 US residents.
Is Cyrilla a common name?
We classify Cyrilla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 543 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cyrilla most popular?
The single biggest year for Cyrilla was 1917, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cyrilla is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cyrilla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cyrilla 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.