Head to head · Boys' names
Cyrus vs Koa
#268 vs #269 in 2025
Cyrus is a whisker ahead (#268 vs #269 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Cyrus is back after a long quiet spell, Koa is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Koa has the edge.
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 5 measures of 6; Koa leads 1.
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: Cyrus #251, Koa — — Cyrus higher
- 1890s: Cyrus #349, Koa — — Cyrus higher
- 1900s: Cyrus #445, Koa — — Cyrus higher
- 1910s: Cyrus #513, Koa — — Cyrus higher
- 1920s: Cyrus #605, Koa — — Cyrus higher
- 1930s: Cyrus #677, Koa — — Cyrus higher
- 1940s: Cyrus #753, Koa — — Cyrus higher
- 1950s: Cyrus #798, Koa — — Cyrus higher
- 1960s: Cyrus #847, Koa — — Cyrus higher
- 1970s: Cyrus #831, Koa #4554 — Cyrus higher
- 1980s: Cyrus #726, Koa #5204 — Cyrus higher
- 1990s: Cyrus #711, Koa #5311 — Cyrus higher
- 2000s: Cyrus #503, Koa #2897 — Cyrus higher
- 2010s: Cyrus #448, Koa #1277 — Cyrus higher
- 2020s: Cyrus #310, Koa #389 — Cyrus higher
Cyrus stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Cyrus | Koa |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #251 | — |
| 1890s | #349 | — |
| 1900s | #445 | — |
| 1910s | #513 | — |
| 1920s | #605 | — |
| 1930s | #677 | — |
| 1940s | #753 | — |
| 1950s | #798 | — |
| 1960s | #847 | — |
| 1970s | #831 | #4554 |
| 1980s | #726 | #5204 |
| 1990s | #711 | #5311 |
| 2000s | #503 | #2897 |
| 2010s | #448 | #1277 |
| 2020s | #310 | #389 |
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
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.
Koa
brave, bold, a warrior — and the koa tree of Hawaii
The two senses belong together in Hawaiian: koa names the hard, prized native hardwood as well as courage in a person.
How it traveled
Koa is a Hawaiian word used as a name. It carries the sense of bravery and of a warrior, and it is also the everyday name of Acacia koa, a tree endemic to the Hawaiian Islands whose timber was worked into canoes, paddles, surfboards and, from the nineteenth century onward, instruments.
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
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.
Koa
KOH-ah
Two syllables, both vowels sounded, stress on the first. It is not a single-syllable "koh" — the final a is heard clearly, as in Hawaiian.
- Ko — Informal, family-level shortening; most bearers use the full name, which is already short.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Cyrus if you want…
- a name with more sound in itCyrus runs 2 syllables, Koa 1
- plenty of nickname options3 recorded short forms — Cy, Sy and Cyro
- a long American recordCyrus was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 58% for Koa
Choose Koa if you want…
- a name on the way upup 313 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesKoa is 1 syllable to Cyrus's 2
- a name that stays wholeone recorded short form for Koa (Ko)
- a newer arrivalKoa entered the US charts in 1978
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
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.
Koa
Strengths
- Three letters, spelled as it sounds; a reader who has never seen it can usually say it on the first try.
- Short enough to sit beside almost any surname or longer middle name without crowding it.
- A real word with a documented meaning in Hawaiian, tied to a specific tree and a specific place.
To consider
- It is a living Hawaiian word, not a decorative sound. Native Hawaiian families use it with that weight, and parents with no connection to the islands are sometimes asked, kindly or otherwise, where the name came from. Worth having an answer you are comfortable giving.
- It is climbing quickly, which means the name a child hears as unusual in preschool may feel considerably more common by high school.
- Expect occasional mishearings and near-misses: Koda, Kona, Noah, Cody. And it is a well-used dog name, which some families find charming and others would rather know in advance.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Cyrus
30%chance Cyrus feels dated by 2040
Cyrus is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Koa
58%chance Koa feels dated by 2040
Koa is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Cyrus and Koa 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 Cyrus and Koa?
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
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- The longest comebacks in the records
- all guides
Where Cyrus and Koa each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Cyrus or Koa — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Cyrus or Koa?
- Cyrus, in 2025: Cyrus ranked #268 with 1,284 babies; Koa ranked #269 with 1,281 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Cyrus or Koa?
- Koa. Over the last five years Cyrus moved up 101 places; Koa moved up 313 places.
- Which is the older name, Cyrus or Koa?
- Cyrus was already in use when US records began in 1880; Koa entered the US charts in 1978. On the American record, Cyrus is the older name.
- How many people are named Cyrus and Koa?
- About 24,500 people named Cyrus are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 7,700 people named Koa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Cyruss or Koas in the classroom?
- Cyrus will almost certainly be the only one in school. Koa 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
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