Name of the Week: Cyrus

Origin:

Cyrus is a Latinised form of the Greek Κῦρος (Kỹros). This was, itself, a Hellenised form of the Old Persian name Kūruš (Kourosh) and the form Κῦρος was almost certainly created to match the Greek word κῦρος (kûros) "supreme power" from which the Greek κυριος (kyrios) "lord, master, ruler" is derived.  The original meaning of Kūruš is uncertain—like many ancient names, substantial evidence is lost to us—but there are several credible theories including "like the sun," "young," "hero," "he who bestows care" and "humiliator of enemies."

Usage:

One of the earliest mentions of the name is attributed to Cyrus I, King of Anshan, who ruled in the 7th century BC. Not much is known about him, but he is most famous for his namesake grandson, Cyrus II—or more commonly, Cyrus the Great, the founder of the first Persian Empire. Cyrus the Great's empire stretched throughout much of Western Asia and Central Asia and was the largest empire the world has ever known. An astute politician and military strategist, he is known for respecting the religion and culture of the lands he conquered and for creating a highly effective system of centralised administration. Furthermore, Cyrus left a lasting legacy on the Jewish nation and is mentioned many times in the Old Testament as the patron and deliverer of the Jews who ended Babylonian captivity. Because he issued a decree of liberation to the Jews, Cyrus is considered to have been anointed God for this task. The Bible even refers to him as a messiah, and he is the only non-Jewish figure in the Bible to be called so.  Nearly two centuries later, Xenophon wrote his masterpiece, The Cyropaedia, describing the education of Cyrus the Great as an ideal leader. It was very widely respected and studied in classical antiquity, and it was later rediscovered during the Renaissance in which Cyrus was used as an example of virtue and a model for princely behaviour. The Cyropaedia remained popular during the Enlightenment and heavily influenced Machiavelli's 16th-century political treatise, The Prince.  As a given name, Cyrus was adopted as a Greek name in Antiquity. We find it recorded in the Jewish Roman catacombs and there was a notable 1st-century Greek architect by the name who worked in Rome. Later, we find it in the Byzantine Empire (where Greek was the official language). Notable bearers include 5th-century writer Cyrus of Panopolis and Cyrus of Alexandria, the last Byzantine patriarch of Egypt. There is a Saint Cyrus: a 4th-century Alexandrian martyr.  In the Western world, Cyrus came into use as a given name in the 16th century, likely because it was a biblical name, but also perhaps influenced in some small part by the esteem for Cyrus the Great promoted in the Cyropaedia. It was rare at first but picked up by the 18th-century as small but regular use.  By 1840, Cyrus ranked at#189 with 21 births in England and Wales. It fell out of the top 200 thereafter.  Registration records for Cyrus as a first name in England & Wales show how consistent it was in use during the 19th-century but that it rapidly declined in use at the beginning of the 20th century: 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 225 births 226 births 242 births 247 births 230 births 220 births 174 births 127 births 63 births 20 births 15 births 8 births 81 births 99 births Cyrus picked up usage in the 1960s and 1970s, and it is interesting to note that many of these registrations had Indian surnames. This not only indicates that Cyrus was used among the Indian community but also reflects the rising migration during this period. Since 1996, Cyrus has, for the most part, remained between #500 and #1000 in England and Wales. It peaked at #462 with 69 births in 2006. In 2017, Cyrus ranked #613 with 59 births.  In Scotland, Cyrus is less common. Since 1990, it has ranked in 20 years out of 29 years. For most of that time (70%), it was only registered once in any given year. However, it did see an unusual peak of #444 with 6 births in 2009.  In 2018, Cyrus ranked #704 with 3 births in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Cyrus I (d.c. 580 BC), King of Anshan. * Cyrus the Great (576 BC–530 BC), the grandson of Cyrus I and founder of the Great Persian Empire. * Cyrus the Younger (died 401 BC), brother to the Persian King Artaxerxes. * Cyrus, 1st-century Greek architect who worked in Rome. * Saint Cyrus, 4th-century Coptic saint. * Cyrus of Panopolis, 5th-century Byzantine writer and official. * Cyrus of Alexandria (d.642), Melkite Patriarch and co-founder of Monothelism. * Cyrus Peirce (1790-1860), founder of first public normal school (teachers' college) in the United States. * Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884), American inventor who developed the modern mechanical reaper. * Cyrus West Field (1819-1892), American businessman who successfully laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable. * Cyrus Hamlin (1839-1867), Union general during American Civil War, son of Vice President Hannibal Hamlin. * Cyrus B. Lower (1843-1924), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient. * Cyrus Edwin Dallin (1861-1944), American sculptor. * Cyrus Townsend Brady (1861-1920), American journalist, historian and adventure writer. * Cyrus Leroy Baldridge (1889-1977), American artist, illustrator, author and adventurer. * Cyrus "Cy" Kendall (1898–1953), American actor. * Cyrus Vance (1917-2002), U.S. Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter. Contemporary: * Cyrus Mistry (born 1956), Indian author and playwright. * Cyrus Frisch (born 1969), Dutch film director. * Cyrus Christie (born 1992), British professional footballer. * Cyrus Ramone Pattinson (born 1994), British boxer for Team GB. * Cyrus Dancy (b.2012), son of actors Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy.  Literature and Other Media: * Cyrus Smith, the leading character in Jules Verne's novel Mysterious Island (1874). * Cyrus Trask, a character from John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden (1952).  * Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, a character from the film Con Air (1997). * Cyrus Lupo, a detective from Law & Order. * Cyrus, a Redguard pirate and hero in the video game The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard.

Variants:

Kyros (Greek), Kourosh, Kurosh (Persian), Kir (Russian), Ciro (Italian, Spanish)

Pronunciation:

SĪ-rəs [key]

Possible diminutives:

Cy, Cris

Sibling Names:

Rhoda     Selah     Minerva     Lilith     Dinah     Persis Dante     Atticus     Judah     Abel     Moses     Saul

Name Lists:

Quirky Biblical

 

If you like Cyrus you may also like:   Emrys, Silas, Darius, Amos, Caius, Sirius, Remus, Gideon, Matthias, Ephraim

Thanks to Leah for requesting this name.