Osyris
An Ancient Egyptian masculine name relating to the deity Osiris.
Name Census estimates that about 45 living Americans carry the first name Osyris. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Osyris today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Osyris births was 2019 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Osyris. 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 Osyris. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
45
~ 1 in 7,616,763 Americans
Peak year
2019
9 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,608
Tracked since 2010
Popularity
Osyris: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Osyris from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 30 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Osyris remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Osyris 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 Osyris 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 Osyris
The name Osyris is believed to have originated from Ancient Egyptian mythology and language. It is derived from the name of the Egyptian god Osiris, who was the lord of the underworld, the dead, and resurrection. The name Osiris itself is likely derived from the Egyptian hieroglyphic root "Asr," which means "seat" or "throne."
In Egyptian mythology, Osiris was one of the most important deities, often depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaonic beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, and holding the crook and flail – symbols of his eternal rulership. He was the firstborn son of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut, and was also the husband of Isis, the goddess of magic, fertility, and motherhood.
The earliest known references to the name Osyris can be found in hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient Egyptian texts, such as the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts, dating back to around 2500 BCE. These texts contain mythological stories, hymns, and spells related to Osiris and his significance in the Egyptian belief system.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Osyris was a high priest of Osiris who lived during the Third Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt (c. 1070-664 BCE). His mummified remains were discovered in the Dra' Abu el-Naga' necropolis in Thebes (modern-day Luxor), and his name was inscribed on his coffin.
Another notable figure named Osyris was a Greek philosopher and alchemist who lived in the 3rd century CE. He is credited with writing several treatises on alchemy and natural philosophy, although only fragments of his works have survived.
In the 5th century CE, there was an Egyptian bishop named Osyris who played a significant role in the Christological controversies of the time. He attended the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE and was a vocal supporter of the miaphysite doctrine, which held that Christ had a single, divine nature.
During the Middle Ages, the name Osyris was occasionally used by European scholars and writers, often in reference to the Egyptian god or to alchemical works attributed to the ancient philosopher of the same name.
In the 19th century, the name Osyris gained some popularity among certain intellectual and artistic circles, particularly in France and Italy, where it was seen as a symbolic representation of ancient wisdom and esoteric knowledge.
People
Osyris + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Osyris as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Osyris: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Osyris?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 45 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Osyris 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 7,616,763 US residents.
Is Osyris a common name?
We classify Osyris as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 45 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Osyris most popular?
The single biggest year for Osyris was 2019, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Osyris is about 8 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 Osyris in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Osyris a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Osyris 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 Osyris still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Osyris 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 Osyris 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 are named Osyris?
Want to know how many people share the name Osyris? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.