Sotirios
Masculine Greek name meaning "savior" or "deliverer".
Name Census estimates that about 256 living Americans carry the first name Sotirios. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sotirios today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sotirios births was 1977 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sotirios. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Sotirios with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
256
~ 1 in 1,338,884 Americans
Peak year
1977
14 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,899
Tracked since 1967
Census
Sotirios in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 606 people with the first name Sotirios, which placed it at #17,943 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,943
National first-name rank
People counted
606
606 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
96.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sotirios
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sotirios is White at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sotirios described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Sotirios at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.9% · 587
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 4
- Two or more races0.7% · 4
- Black or African American0.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Sotirios: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sotirios from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 95 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sotirios 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 Sotirios during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sotirios' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sotirios
The name Sotirios is of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word "sotirios" which means "savior" or "deliverer." It has been used in Greece and by Greek communities around the world for centuries.
The name is believed to have its roots in ancient Greek mythology and religion, where it was associated with gods and heroes who were seen as saviors or protectors. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name can be found in the New Testament of the Bible, where it is used as an epithet for Jesus Christ, who was seen as the savior of humanity.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Sotirios was Saint Sotirios of Cappadocia, a 4th-century Christian martyr and saint. He was born around 270 AD in Cappadocia, a region in modern-day Turkey, and was executed for his Christian beliefs during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sotirios Versidis (1843-1919), a Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece from 1916 to 1917. He played a crucial role in the political events surrounding Greece's entry into World War I and the establishment of the Second Hellenic Republic.
In the 20th century, Sotirios Kapsaskis (1907-1995) was a prominent Greek composer and conductor. He was known for his contributions to the development of modern Greek music and for his work in promoting Greek cultural heritage.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos (born 1979) is a former Greek professional football player who played as a defender for several clubs in Greece and England, including Liverpool FC and Sunderland AFC.
Sotirios Douvanis (1914-1992) was a Greek poet and writer known for his works exploring themes of love, nature, and the human condition. He was awarded the prestigious National Poetry Prize of Greece in 1991 for his lifetime achievements.
While the name Sotirios has its origins in ancient Greek culture and religion, it has been embraced by Greek communities around the world and has been given to individuals from various backgrounds and professions throughout history.
People
Sotirios + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sotirios 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
Sotirios: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sotirios?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 256 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sotirios 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 1,338,884 US residents.
Is Sotirios a common name?
We classify Sotirios as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 270 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sotirios most popular?
The single biggest year for Sotirios was 1977, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sotirios is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sotirios in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 606 people with the name Sotirios, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,943 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Sotirios in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Sotirios?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sotirios appears almost entirely male. Of the 602 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Sotirios?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sotirios is White at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Sotirios most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sotirios in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.9% (587 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Sotirios in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sotirios a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sotirios 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 Sotirios still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sotirios 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 Sotirios 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.
How many people are named Sotirios?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.