Pius
Masculine form of Latin pius, meaning "pious", "dutiful", or "devout".
Name Census estimates that about 202 living Americans carry the first name Pius. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Pius today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pius births was 1927 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pius. 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
202
~ 1 in 1,696,804 Americans
Peak year
1927
19 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,940
Tracked since 1911
Popularity
Pius: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pius from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 139 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Pius remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pius 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 Pius during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pius' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Pius
The name Pius has its origins in the Latin language, derived from the word "pius" which means pious, religious, or dutiful. It can be traced back to ancient Roman times, where it was commonly used as a cognomen or additional name to indicate a person's virtue and devotion to religious practices.
In the early Christian era, the name gained significance as it was adopted by several influential figures within the Catholic Church. One of the most notable bearers of this name was Pope Pius I, who served as the Bishop of Rome from around 140 to 155 AD. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and is believed to have died a martyr during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius.
Another prominent figure who bore this name was Pope Pius V, born Antonio Michele Ghislieri in 1504. He is remembered for his role in the Council of Trent, which aimed to reform the Catholic Church and address the challenges posed by the Protestant Reformation. Pope Pius V was also instrumental in forming the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states that defeated the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
In the realm of literature, the name Pius appears in Virgil's Aeneid, where it is used to describe the character of Aeneas, who is depicted as a pious and dutiful leader. This association with virtue and righteousness further solidified the name's positive connotations.
The name Pius has been borne by several other notable individuals throughout history, including Pius VII (1742-1823), who was Pope during the turbulent period of the Napoleonic Wars, and Pius XII (1876-1958), whose pontificate spanned World War II and the early years of the Cold War.
Outside the Catholic Church, the name Pius has also been used by various individuals, such as Pius Rameka (1938-2022), a prominent New Zealand politician and activist of Māori descent, and Pius Cheung (born 1966), a Hong Kong actor and singer.
Overall, the name Pius has a rich historical legacy, originating from Latin and closely associated with religious devotion, virtue, and righteous conduct. Its use by numerous influential figures, particularly within the Catholic Church, has further cemented its significance and enduring appeal across different cultures and eras.
People
Pius + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pius 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
Pius: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pius?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 202 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pius 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 1,696,804 US residents.
Is Pius a common name?
We classify Pius as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 466 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pius most popular?
The single biggest year for Pius was 1927, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pius is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Pius a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pius 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.