Sicarii
Jewish dagger-men active in ancient Judea circa 66–73 CE.
Name Census estimates that about 8 living Americans carry the first name Sicarii. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sicarii today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sicarii births was 2021 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sicarii. 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 Sicarii. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
8
~ 1 in 42,844,292 Americans
Peak year
2021
8 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2021 SSA rank
#9,565
Tracked since 2021
Popularity
Sicarii: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Sicarii 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 Sicarii during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 8 | 0 | 8 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Sicarii
The name Sicarii has its origins in the ancient Aramaic language, spoken in the Middle East during the time of the Roman Empire. It derives from the Latin word sicarius, which translates to "dagger-wielder" or "assassin." This name is associated with a Jewish splinter group from ancient Judea, known as the Sicarii or Sicarii Zealots.
The Sicarii were a radical Jewish group that emerged around 66-73 CE during the First Jewish-Roman War. They opposed the Roman occupation of Judea and resorted to guerilla tactics, including the use of daggers (sicae) to assassinate their enemies. The group is mentioned in the writings of the ancient Roman-Jewish historian Josephus, who documented the Jewish-Roman wars.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sicarii can be found in Josephus' work "The Jewish War," where he describes the group's violent actions against both Romans and moderate Jews. However, there are no known individuals specifically named Sicarii from that time period.
Throughout history, the name Sicarii has been used sparingly, often in reference to the ancient Jewish rebel group or to individuals associated with violence or assassination. Notably, Sicarius was the name of a 4th-century Christian saint and martyr from Gaul (modern-day France), who was killed during the Diocletian persecutions of Christians in the early 300s CE.
Another individual named Sicarius was a 6th-century Christian monk and scholar from Ireland, known for his contributions to the study of classical Latin literature. He lived and worked in the monasteries of Ireland and is believed to have been born around 520 CE.
In the 11th century, a Sicilian Arab historian and writer named Al-Sicari (also spelled Al-Siqillī) wrote about the history and culture of Sicily during the Arab rule of the island. He was born around 1050 CE and is considered one of the earliest Arab historians to document the Norman conquest of Sicily.
During the Renaissance period, Sicario Sicarii was an Italian painter and fresco artist active in the 16th century. He was born in Messina, Sicily, around 1520 CE and is known for his religious works, including frescoes in churches throughout southern Italy.
In more recent times, the name Sicarii has sometimes been used as a pseudonym or pen name by authors or artists, drawing inspiration from the ancient Jewish rebel group and the connotations of violence and secrecy associated with the name.
People
Sicarii + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sicarii 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
Sicarii: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sicarii?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sicarii 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 42,844,292 US residents.
Is Sicarii a common name?
We classify Sicarii as "Very Rare". It ranks above 24.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sicarii most popular?
The single biggest year for Sicarii was 2021, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sicarii is about 5 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 Sicarii in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sicarii a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sicarii 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 Sicarii still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sicarii 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 Sicarii 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 common is the name Sicarii?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.