Cythnia
A feminine form of Cynthius, derived from Mount Cynthus in Greek mythology.
Name Census estimates that about 89 living Americans carry the first name Cythnia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cythnia today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cythnia births was 1958 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cythnia. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cythnia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
89
~ 1 in 3,851,172 Americans
Peak year
1958
10 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1979 SSA rank
#10,526
Tracked since 1955
Popularity
Cythnia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cythnia from the 1950s through to the 1970s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 53 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Cythnia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cythnia 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 Cythnia 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 Cythnia
The name Cythnia is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the ancient Greek word "kythno," which means "of Cythnus" – an island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. It is closely related to the name Cynthia, which is a variant spelling of the same name.
In Greek mythology, Cynthia was an epithet used for the goddess Artemis, who was born on Mount Cynthus on the island of Delos. The name was associated with the moon, as Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, and the moon.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cythnia can be found in the works of the ancient Greek poet Callimachus, who lived in the 3rd century BC. He wrote a hymn to the goddess Artemis, addressing her as "Cynthia, the fair-faced moon."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Cythnia. One of the earliest was Cythnia Vestina (born around 25 AD), a Roman noblewoman and the second wife of the Roman emperor Claudius. Another notable bearer of the name was Cythnia of Alexandria (born around 415 AD), a Christian martyr and saint who was executed during the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.
In the Middle Ages, the name was used by Cythnia of Brandenburg (1333-1398), a German princess and the wife of the Margrave of Brandenburg. In the Renaissance period, Cythnia Gonzaga (1535-1594) was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her patronage of the poet Torquato Tasso.
During the 17th century, the name was borne by Cythnia Philips (1590-1654), an English poet and writer who was one of the first English women to achieve literary recognition. In the 18th century, Cythnia Lennox (1723-1805) was a Scottish noblewoman and writer, known for her novel "The Female Quixote."
While the name Cythnia has been used throughout history, it has never been as widely popular as its variant spelling, Cynthia. Nevertheless, it remains a beautiful and unique name with a rich historical and mythological background.
People
Cythnia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cythnia 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
Cythnia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cythnia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 89 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cythnia 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 3,851,172 US residents.
Is Cythnia a common name?
We classify Cythnia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 108 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cythnia most popular?
The single biggest year for Cythnia was 1958, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cythnia is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cythnia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cythnia 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.