Syra
A feminine name derived from the Arabic word "sirr" meaning "secret".
Name Census estimates that about 404 living Americans carry the first name Syra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Syra today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Syra births was 2021 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Syra. 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 Syra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
404
~ 1 in 848,402 Americans
Peak year
2021
26 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,752
Tracked since 1988
Census
Syra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 397 people with the first name Syra, which placed it at #24,319 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
#24,319
National first-name rank
People counted
397
397 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
30.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Syra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Syra is Hispanic at 30.0%. The next largest groups are White (25.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (24.7%). 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 Syra 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 Syra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino30.0% · 119
- White25.7% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander24.7% · 98
- Black or African American10.1% · 40
- Two or more races8.1% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 6
Popularity
Syra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Syra from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 133 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Syra remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Syra 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 Syra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Syras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Syra
The name Syra is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek language, with its earliest roots tracing back to the Byzantine era in the 5th century AD. It is thought to be derived from the Greek word "syros," which means "from the island of Syros" or "a woman from the island of Syros." The island of Syros is one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea, known for its rich cultural heritage and historical significance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Syra can be found in the writings of the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea, who lived in the 6th century AD. In his work "History of the Wars," Procopius mentions a woman named Syra who was a prominent figure in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
Throughout the Byzantine period, the name Syra was predominantly used by Greek families, particularly those with connections to the island of Syros or the broader Cyclades region. It was a name that carried connotations of grace, elegance, and sophistication, reflecting the cultural influence of the Byzantine Empire.
During the Middle Ages, the name Syra continued to be used within Greek communities, although it was not as widely popular as some other Greek names. However, in the 14th century, a notable figure named Syra Palaeologina, a member of the Byzantine Palaeologus dynasty, gained recognition for her literary works and patronage of the arts.
As the centuries passed, the name Syra remained relatively obscure outside of Greek communities, but it experienced a resurgence in popularity during the 19th century. One of the most famous individuals with the name Syra was Syra Nicoloudi, a prominent Greek feminist and writer who lived from 1845 to 1918. Her advocacy for women's rights and her literary contributions helped to raise the profile of the name.
Other notable individuals with the name Syra include:
1. Syra Alonso (born 1933), a Spanish film actress known for her roles in several Pedro Almodóvar films.
2. Syra Yousuf (born 1974), a Pakistani model and actress who has appeared in numerous television series and films.
3. Syra Shahroz (born 1988), a Pakistani television actress known for her work in various dramas and serials.
4. Syra Punjabi (born 1960), an Indian classical dancer and choreographer renowned for her expertise in Kathak dance.
5. Syra Naz (born 1992), a Pakistani actress and model who has participated in various fashion shows and television commercials.
While the name Syra is not as common as some other Greek names, it has managed to maintain a presence throughout history, carrying with it a sense of cultural richness and historical significance rooted in the ancient Greek language and the island of Syros.
People
Syra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Syra 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
Syra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Syra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 404 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Syra 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 848,402 US residents.
Is Syra a common name?
We classify Syra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 409 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Syra most popular?
The single biggest year for Syra was 2021, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Syra is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Syra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 397 people with the name Syra, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,319 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 Syra 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 Syra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Syra appears almost entirely female. Of the 394 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Syra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Syra is Hispanic at 30.0%. The next largest groups are White (25.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (24.7%). 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 Syra most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Syra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 30.0% (119 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 Syra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Syra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Syra in the SSA data are female. 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 Syra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Syra 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 Syra 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 called Syra?
You can see how many Americans are named Syra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.