Perseus
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "to destroy".
Name Census estimates that about 1,243 living Americans carry the first name Perseus. It is a predominantly male name (97.4% of registrations). The average person named Perseus today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Perseus births was 2024 (152 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Perseus. 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
- • Perseus is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 7 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 275,748 Americans
Peak year
2024
152 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,290
Tracked since 1983
Gender
Gender distribution for Perseus
Perseus leans heavily male at 97.4% of total registrations, but 32 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Perseus as a male name
- Ranked #1,290 in 2024
- 152 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (152 births)
Perseus as a female name
- Ranked #14,005 in 2016
- 7 female births in 2016
- Peak: 2016 (7 births)
Popularity
Perseus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Perseus from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 643 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
Perseus 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 Perseus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Perseus' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Perseus, while Tennessee, Oklahoma, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Perseus
The name Perseus originates from the ancient Greek language and mythology. It is derived from the Greek verb "persai" meaning "to destroy" and may have been influenced by the name of the hero Perseus from Greek myths, who was famous for slaying the Gorgon Medusa.
One of the earliest references to the name appears in ancient Greek texts describing the legendary hero Perseus, the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë. According to Greek mythology, Perseus was conceived when Zeus impregnated Danaë in the form of a golden shower. He grew up to become a renowned hero, known for his bravery and intelligence in completing tasks set by the gods, including slaying the monstrous Gorgon Medusa.
In ancient times, the name Perseus was likely used as a name for male children in Greece and other parts of the ancient Greek world. It may have been chosen to express hopes of bravery, strength, and heroism for the child, drawing inspiration from the mythological figure.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Perseus was a Greek historian and student of Isocrates, who lived in the 4th century BC. Another notable figure was Perseus, the last king of the Macedonian kingdom, who reigned from 179 BC to 168 BC and was eventually defeated by the Roman Republic in the Third Macedonian War.
In the Middle Ages, the name Perseus appears to have been less common, but it resurfaced during the Renaissance period when interest in classical Greek and Roman culture was revived. A famous bearer of the name during this time was Perseus Vazzio (1475-1522), an Italian scholar and humanist who taught at the University of Padua.
In the 18th century, the name was used by the English poet and playwright Perseus Kerkhoven (1717-1797), and in the 19th century, by the American lawyer and politician Perseus Lorillard (1815-1901), who served as a member of the New York State Senate.
Other notable individuals with the name Perseus include the Greek painter Perseus Gavalas (1865-1944), the Italian author and critic Perseus Bargilli (1892-1975), and the English actor and director Perseus Saltonstall (1920-1997).
People
Perseus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Perseus as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Perseus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Perseus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,243 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Perseus 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 275,748 US residents.
Is Perseus a common name?
We classify Perseus as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,252 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Perseus most popular?
The single biggest year for Perseus was 2024, when 152 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Perseus is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Perseus a male name?
Yes, 97.4% of people registered as Perseus 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.