Czar
A Russian title for a supreme ruler or emperor.
Name Census estimates that about 215 living Americans carry the first name Czar. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Czar today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Czar births was 2022 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Czar. 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
215
~ 1 in 1,594,206 Americans
Peak year
2022
19 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,318
Tracked since 1975
Popularity
Czar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Czar from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 94 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Czar remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Czar 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 Czar 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 Czar
The name Czar originated from the Russian word "??????????", which was derived from the Latin word "Caesar". This name was used as a title for the former rulers of the Russian Empire, beginning in the 16th century. The first ruler to adopt the title "Czar" was Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible, who reigned from 1547 to 1584.
The term "Caesar" itself was initially used as a title for the Roman emperors, with the first being Julius Caesar, who lived from 100 BC to 44 BC. The word "Caesar" is believed to have come from the Latin word "caesaries", which means "long hair" or "hairy".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "Czar" can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible, where it is mentioned as the title for the rulers of Babylon. In the Book of Daniel, the name "Czar" is used to refer to Nebuchadnezzar II, who reigned from 605 BC to 562 BC.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name "Czar" or "Caesar". One of the most famous was Peter the Great, who ruled as the Czar of Russia from 1682 to 1725. He is known for his efforts to modernize and westernize Russia.
Another well-known Czar was Catherine the Great, who ruled from 1762 to 1796. She is remembered for her expansion of the Russian Empire and her promotion of the arts and education.
In the Byzantine Empire, one of the most influential rulers was Justinian I, who lived from 482 AD to 565 AD and is often referred to as "Caesar" or "Czar Justinian". He is known for his legal reforms and the construction of the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople (now Istanbul).
Another notable figure who bore the name "Czar" was Ivan V, who co-ruled as the Czar of Russia with his brother Peter the Great from 1682 to 1696. Despite his short reign, he is remembered for his efforts to modernize the Russian military.
The last Czar of Russia was Nicholas II, who ruled from 1894 to 1917. His reign was marked by political unrest and the eventual overthrow of the Russian monarchy during the Russian Revolution.
People
Czar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Czar 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
Czar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Czar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 215 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Czar 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 1,594,206 US residents.
Is Czar a common name?
We classify Czar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 217 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Czar most popular?
The single biggest year for Czar was 2022, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Czar is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Czar a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Czar 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.
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.