Primus
The Latin name meaning first, foremost, or chief.
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Primus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Primus today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Primus births was 1920 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Primus. 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 Primus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
1920
10 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,904
Tracked since 1881
Popularity
Primus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Primus from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 48 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Primus 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 Primus 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 Primus
The name Primus has its origins in Latin, derived from the word "primus" which means "first" or "foremost." It was commonly used in ancient Roman culture to denote the firstborn son or the eldest child in a family.
In early Christian tradition, Primus was the name of several saints and martyrs from the early centuries of the Church. One notable bearer of this name was Saint Primus of Rome, who lived in the 3rd century and suffered martyrdom during the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
The name Primus gained popularity in various European regions during the Middle Ages, particularly in areas with strong ties to the Roman Empire and its cultural influences. It was used by several prominent individuals throughout this period, including Primus of Trier, a 6th-century bishop and historian from the Frankish Kingdom.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Primus can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who mentioned a Roman soldier named Primus who played a significant role in the Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD).
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Primus. One such figure was Primus Truber (1508-1586), a Slovenian Protestant reformer and author who is considered the founder of the Slovenian literary language. Another was Primus Girault (1836-1898), a French entomologist and naturalist known for his contributions to the study of parasitic wasps.
In the realm of music, Primus was the stage name of the American bassist and vocalist Les Claypool (born 1963), who founded the influential rock band Primus in the late 1980s. The band's unique blend of funk, punk, and experimental rock gained them a cult following and critical acclaim.
Other notable bearers of the name Primus include Primus Everett (1892-1962), an American physician and civil rights activist who played a significant role in the desegregation of hospitals in the United States, and Primus Mullen (1868-1942), an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives.
People
Primus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Primus 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
Primus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Primus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Primus 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Primus a common name?
We classify Primus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 194 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Primus most popular?
The single biggest year for Primus was 1920, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Primus is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Primus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Primus 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.