Sibyl
A name with Greek origins meaning "prophet" or "prophetess".
Name Census estimates that about 1,119 living Americans carry the first name Sibyl. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sibyl today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sibyl births was 1918 (299 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sibyl. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 306,304 Americans
Peak year
1918
299 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,438
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Sibyl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sibyl from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 1,159 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sibyl 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 Sibyl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sibyls live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. Texas, Arkansas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Sibyl, while New York, Kansas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 69 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sibyl
The name Sibyl has its origins in ancient Greek mythology and language. It is derived from the Greek word "sibylla", which means "prophetess" or "female oracle". The earliest known use of this name dates back to the 6th century BC, when it referred to certain oracular women in ancient Greece and Anatolia.
In Greek mythology, the Sibyls were a group of oracular women who were believed to possess prophetic powers and the ability to interpret the will of the gods. They were highly revered and consulted for their wisdom and guidance on important matters. The most famous of these Sibyls was the Cumaean Sibyl, who was said to have guided Aeneas on his journey to found the city of Rome.
The name Sibyl also appears in various ancient Greek and Roman texts, including the works of Virgil, Ovid, and Pausanias. In the Bible, the Sibylline Oracles, a collection of oracular sayings attributed to these prophetesses, are mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
During the Middle Ages, the name Sibyl gained popularity in Christian Europe, where it was associated with the concept of the Sibyls as prophets who foretold the coming of Christ. Notable historical figures named Sibyl include Sibyl of Jerusalem (4th century AD), a Christian martyr, and Sibyl, Countess of Flanders (1094-1119), a medieval noblewoman.
In the Renaissance period, the name Sibyl became popular among artists and intellectuals who were fascinated by the classical world. One of the most famous examples is Michelangelo's depiction of the Cumaean Sibyl on the Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508-1512). Other notable Sibyls from this era include Sibyl Dormer (1590-1661), an English writer and translator, and Sibyl Sanderson (1865-1903), a famous American operatic soprano.
Other historical figures named Sibyl include Sibyl Avory (1834-1924), an English women's rights activist, and Sibyl Moholy-Nagy (1903-1971), a German-American art historian and writer.
People
Sibyl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sibyl as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sibyl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sibyl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,119 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sibyl 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 306,304 US residents.
Is Sibyl a common name?
We classify Sibyl as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,441 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sibyl most popular?
The single biggest year for Sibyl was 1918, when 299 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sibyl is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sibyl a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sibyl in the SSA data are female. 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.