Head to head · Boys' names
Colt vs Cyrus
#285 vs #268 in 2025
Cyrus is a whisker ahead (#268 vs #285 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Cyrus is back after a long quiet spell, Colt is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Cyrus leads 4 measures of 6; Colt leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Colt —, Cyrus #251 — Cyrus higher
- 1890s: Colt —, Cyrus #349 — Cyrus higher
- 1900s: Colt —, Cyrus #445 — Cyrus higher
- 1910s: Colt —, Cyrus #513 — Cyrus higher
- 1920s: Colt —, Cyrus #605 — Cyrus higher
- 1930s: Colt —, Cyrus #677 — Cyrus higher
- 1940s: Colt —, Cyrus #753 — Cyrus higher
- 1950s: Colt #2979, Cyrus #798 — Cyrus higher
- 1960s: Colt #2823, Cyrus #847 — Cyrus higher
- 1970s: Colt #2798, Cyrus #831 — Cyrus higher
- 1980s: Colt #1190, Cyrus #726 — Cyrus higher
- 1990s: Colt #708, Cyrus #711 — Colt higher
- 2000s: Colt #796, Cyrus #503 — Cyrus higher
- 2010s: Colt #305, Cyrus #448 — Colt higher
- 2020s: Colt #251, Cyrus #310 — Colt higher
Cyrus stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Colt has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Colt | Cyrus |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #251 |
| 1890s | — | #349 |
| 1900s | — | #445 |
| 1910s | — | #513 |
| 1920s | — | #605 |
| 1930s | — | #677 |
| 1940s | — | #753 |
| 1950s | #2979 | #798 |
| 1960s | #2823 | #847 |
| 1970s | #2798 | #831 |
| 1980s | #1190 | #726 |
| 1990s | #708 | #711 |
| 2000s | #796 | #503 |
| 2010s | #305 | #448 |
| 2020s | #251 | #310 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Colt
Young horse
From Old English colt, which in the earliest records covered young donkeys and camels as well before narrowing to a young male horse.
Old English colt → Colt (English surname) → Colt (American given name)
How it traveled
The word colt is Old English and has kept its shape for more than a millennium, which is unusual; most words that old have been worn down or replaced. It became an English surname in the medieval period, carried by families identified with horses or by a nickname for a young man, and Samuel Colt made that surname a household word in nineteenth-century America.
Cyrus
Not established
The Old Persian Kūruš has no agreed translation. Greek and Roman writers connected it with a word for the sun, and that reading still circulates; modern scholars have proposed a sense of 'young' from Old Persian, and others suspect a pre-Persian, possibly Elamite, source. A separate strand comes from Greek: kyrios, 'lord', which resembles Kyros closely enough that early Greek speakers linked the two, though the resemblance is likely coincidence.
Kūruš → Koresh → Kyros → Cyrus
How it traveled
The oldest form is Old Persian Kūruš, the name of Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire in the sixth century BC. Hebrew scripture calls him Koresh and credits him with ending the Babylonian exile; Greek writers made him Kyros, and Xenophon built a whole education-of-a-prince treatise, the Cyropaedia, around him.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Colt
KOHLT
One syllable, rhyming with bolt. There is no second pronunciation to correct.
- Colt — Also in wide use as the short form of Colton; many boys registered as Colton go by Colt every day.
- Colty — Family-level and affectionate, generally outgrown early.
Cyrus
SY-rus
Two syllables, stress on the first, opening like the word 'sigh'. Persian-speaking relatives may use Kourosh instead, pronounced koo-ROOSH, which is the same name on its own road.
- Cy — The standard short form in English for generations, and long used as a standalone given name and nickname in its own right.
- Sy — Same sound, alternate spelling; more often seen as a short form of Seymour or Simon, so it invites a question.
- Cyro — Informal and family-made rather than established; occasionally used among friends.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Colt if you want…
- a name fewer children share#285 in 2025 — colt will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsColt is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesColt is 1 syllable to Cyrus's 2
- a newer arrivalColt entered the US charts in 1957
Choose Cyrus if you want…
- a name most people already know#268 in 2025, 1,284 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 101 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itCyrus runs 2 syllables, Colt 1
- a long American recordCyrus was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Colt
Strengths
- One syllable, spelled exactly as it sounds — very little chance of it being misspelled or mispronounced anywhere in the English-speaking world.
- An ordinary English word with a continuous written record going back to Old English, so it is instantly recognizable even to people who have never met the name.
- Works cleanly with longer surnames and pairs naturally with two- or three-syllable middle names.
To consider
- Colt Firearms and Samuel Colt are the strongest associations the surname carries in America. For some families that is neutral or even appealing; for others it is the first thing they hear, and it is worth knowing before you decide.
- This is a young name. Its wave is recent enough that nearly everyone carrying it is still a child, so there are no grown Colts to picture — which cuts both ways.
- The Western and country register is real: the word belongs to horses, ranches and rodeo, and the name is most at home in that world. It travels fine outside it, just with a little more explaining.
Cyrus
Strengths
- One settled short form, Cy, ready and unmistakable, plus a full form that needs no explanation on a form or a diploma.
- A spelling most English speakers can write on hearing it, backed by centuries of use in Bibles, histories and family records.
- Continuous presence in American records rather than a revival from nothing — old people, young people and newborns all carry it.
To consider
- Many Americans meet Cyrus first as a surname, thanks to well-known bearers of that last name in country and pop music. It reads as a surname to some ears, which may mean an occasional double take.
- In a Persian-speaking family, expect the name to be spoken two ways — Cyrus at school, Kourosh at home. That is usually a pleasure rather than a problem, but it is worth deciding early which one goes on the birth certificate.
- The -us ending puts it in company with Marcus, Titus and Silas; whether that grouping suits your surname is worth reading aloud a few times.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Colt and Cyrus in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Colt and Cyrus?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Nature names in real use
- One-syllable names: said in a single beat
- Western names with dust on their boots
- Animal names with teeth (and paws)
- all guides
Where Colt and Cyrus each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Colt or Cyrus — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Colt or Cyrus?
- Cyrus, in 2025: Cyrus ranked #268 with 1,284 babies; Colt ranked #285 with 1,188 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Colt or Cyrus?
- Cyrus. Over the last five years Colt moved down 64 places; Cyrus moved up 101 places.
- Which is the older name, Colt or Cyrus?
- Colt entered the US charts in 1957; Cyrus was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Cyrus is the older name.
- How many people are named Colt and Cyrus?
- About 27,500 people named Colt are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 24,500 people named Cyrus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Colts or Cyruss in the classroom?
- Colt will almost certainly be the only one in school. Cyrus will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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