Sirus
The bright or scorching star, a name of Arabic origin.
Name Census estimates that about 336 living Americans carry the first name Sirus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sirus today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sirus births was 2020 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sirus. 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
336
~ 1 in 1,020,102 Americans
Peak year
2020
22 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,756
Tracked since 1995
Popularity
Sirus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sirus from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 134 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sirus remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sirus 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 Sirus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sirus' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sirus
The name Sirus is derived from the ancient Greek word 'Σείριος' (Seirios), which means 'scorching' or 'glowing.' It is believed to have originated in the Mediterranean region during the classical era. The name is closely associated with the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, which is part of the constellation Canis Major (the Great Dog).
In ancient Greek mythology, Sirius was known as the 'Dog Star' and was associated with the scorching heat of summer. The star's heliacal rising (its first visible appearance after a period of invisibility) marked the beginning of the hottest season, and it was considered a significant event in ancient times.
One of the earliest known references to the name Sirus can be found in the works of the Greek poet Hesiod, who lived around the 8th century BC. He mentions the star Sirius in his poem 'Works and Days,' describing its importance in agricultural cycles.
The name Sirus has been used throughout history, albeit rarely. One notable figure bearing this name was Sirus of Pavia, an Italian theologian and writer who lived in the 8th century AD. He is known for his work 'Sententiae,' which was a collection of theological and moral sayings.
Another historical figure with the name Sirus was Sirus of Genoa, a 12th-century Italian navigator and explorer. He is credited with introducing the use of the magnetic compass for navigation purposes in Europe, which helped pave the way for future maritime explorations.
In the 16th century, there was a Sirus Todus, an Italian philosopher and mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of geometry. He is best known for his work 'De Dimensione Circuli,' which explored the problem of squaring the circle.
A more recent figure with the name Sirus was Sirus Fedorov, a Russian-born American chemist who lived from 1912 to 1973. He made important contributions to the field of organic chemistry and is particularly known for his work on the synthesis of organic compounds.
It is worth noting that while the name Sirus has been used throughout history, it has never been a particularly common name in any culture or region. Its rarity may be attributed to its connection with the star Sirius and its origins in ancient Greek mythology.
People
Sirus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sirus 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
Sirus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sirus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 336 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sirus 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 1,020,102 US residents.
Is Sirus a common name?
We classify Sirus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 339 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sirus most popular?
The single biggest year for Sirus was 2020, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sirus is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sirus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sirus 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.