Sykes
A name of English origin meaning "dweller near a boundary ditch".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Sykes. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sykes today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sykes births was 2021 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sykes. 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 Sykes. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2021
6 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2021 SSA rank
#11,950
Tracked since 2021
Popularity
Sykes: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Sykes 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 Sykes 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 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Sykes
The name Sykes is of English origin and is derived from the Old English word "sīc," which means a small stream or watercourse. It is believed to have originated as a surname for someone who lived near a small stream or brook, and it eventually became adopted as a first name as well.
In the Middle Ages, the name was often spelled as "Sike" or "Sykke," and it was commonly found in areas such as Yorkshire and Lancashire, where it was likely used to describe the many small streams and brooks that dotted the landscape.
While there are no known ancient texts or religious scriptures that specifically mention the name Sykes, it is possible that the name was in use in various forms during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sykes dates back to the 13th century, when a man named William Sykes was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire in 1297.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the first name Sykes, including:
1. Sir Mark Sykes (1879-1919), a British diplomat and diplomat who played a key role in the negotiation of the Sykes-Picot Agreement during World War I.
2. Sykes Herring (1912-1995), an American actor and comedian who appeared in several films and television shows in the mid-20th century.
3. Sykes Cottrell (1909-1968), an American artist and painter known for his abstract expressionist works.
4. Sykes O'Leary (1890-1958), an American football player and coach who played for the University of Notre Dame and later coached at several universities.
5. Sykes Zanvyl Krieger (1899-1985), an American businessman and philanthropist who served as the president of the University of Southern California from 1957 to 1970.
While the name Sykes may not be as common today as it once was, it has a rich history and heritage that can be traced back to the Old English language and the early settlements of England.
People
Sykes + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sykes 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
Sykes: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sykes?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sykes 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Sykes a common name?
We classify Sykes as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sykes most popular?
The single biggest year for Sykes was 2021, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sykes 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 Sykes in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sykes a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sykes 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 Sykes still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sykes 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 Sykes 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 Sykes?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Sykes at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.