Sye
A Scandinavian name meaning "pledge" or "guardian".
Name Census estimates that about 97 living Americans carry the first name Sye. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sye today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sye births was 2007 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sye. 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 Sye. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
97
~ 1 in 3,533,550 Americans
Peak year
2007
13 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,218
Tracked since 1914
Census
Sye in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 313 people with the first name Sye, which placed it at #28,614 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
#28,614
National first-name rank
People counted
313
313 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sye
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sye is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Black (21.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%). 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 Sye 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 Sye at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.1% · 160
- Black or African American21.7% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.3% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.8% · 15
- Two or more races4.2% · 13
Popularity
Sye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sye from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 46 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sye 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 Sye 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 Sye
The given name Sye has its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages that emerged in Mesopotamia around 3500 BCE. The name is derived from the Sumerian word "si-e," which translates to "life" or "living." This suggests that the name Sye was originally associated with concepts of vitality, existence, and the essence of being.
Early references to the name Sye can be found in cuneiform inscriptions and clay tablets from the Sumerian civilization, indicating its widespread use among the people of that region. As Sumerian culture and language influenced neighboring civilizations, the name Sye likely spread to other parts of the ancient Near East.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Sye was a Sumerian scribe who lived during the reign of the renowned king Shulgi of the Third Dynasty of Ur, around 2100 BCE. This scribe was responsible for meticulously recording the royal decrees and administrative documents of the time.
In the 8th century BCE, the name Sye appeared in the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known literary works and a seminal text in Mesopotamian mythology. The character Sye was portrayed as a wise sage who offered counsel to the epic's hero, Gilgamesh, on his quest for immortality.
During the Hellenistic period, a notable figure named Sye of Croton, born in 520 BCE, was a renowned Pythagorean philosopher and mathematician. He is credited with discovering the side-angle-side congruence theorem in geometry, which bears his name to this day.
In the 12th century CE, a Persian poet and mystic named Sye al-Din Rumi was born in present-day Afghanistan. Rumi's poetry, which often explored themes of divine love and the human soul's journey towards enlightenment, has had a profound influence on both Eastern and Western literature and spirituality.
Another notable individual with the name Sye was Sye Mun, a Korean naval commander who lived from 1551 to 1628. He played a pivotal role in defending Korea against Japanese invasions during the Imjin War, demonstrating remarkable strategic acumen and leadership in naval battles.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Sye, each leaving their mark in various fields such as literature, philosophy, mathematics, and military strategy. The name's Sumerian origins, rich in symbolism and connection to the essence of life, have undoubtedly contributed to its enduring presence across cultures and time periods.
People
Sye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sye 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
Sye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 97 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sye 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 3,533,550 US residents.
Is Sye a common name?
We classify Sye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 113 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sye most popular?
The single biggest year for Sye was 2007, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sye is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sye in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 313 people with the name Sye, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,614 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 Sye 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 Sye?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sye on both sides of the split. Of the 315 people counted with this name, 219 were male (69.5%) and 96 were female (30.5%). 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 Sye?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sye is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Black (21.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%). 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 Sye most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.1% (160 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 Sye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sye a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sye 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 Sye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sye 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 Sye 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 Sye?
Want to know how many people share the name Sye? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.