Head to head · Boys' names
Cyrus vs Saint
#268 vs #267 in 2025
Saint is a whisker ahead (#267 vs #268 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Saint is climbing the charts fast, Cyrus is back after a long quiet spell.
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
The tape is even: Cyrus and Saint each lead 3 measures of 6.
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, Saint — — Cyrus higher
- 1890s: Cyrus #349, Saint #787 — Cyrus higher
- 1900s: Cyrus #445, Saint #1345 — Cyrus higher
- 1910s: Cyrus #513, Saint #2358 — Cyrus higher
- 1920s: Cyrus #605, Saint #2589 — Cyrus higher
- 1930s: Cyrus #677, Saint #3214 — Cyrus higher
- 1940s: Cyrus #753, Saint #2744 — Cyrus higher
- 1950s: Cyrus #798, Saint #2958 — Cyrus higher
- 1960s: Cyrus #847, Saint #3830 — Cyrus higher
- 1970s: Cyrus #831, Saint #4790 — Cyrus higher
- 1980s: Cyrus #726, Saint #5977 — Cyrus higher
- 1990s: Cyrus #711, Saint #7228 — Cyrus higher
- 2000s: Cyrus #503, Saint #6479 — Cyrus higher
- 2010s: Cyrus #448, Saint #2693 — Cyrus higher
- 2020s: Cyrus #310, Saint #375 — Cyrus higher
Cyrus stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Cyrus | Saint |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #251 | — |
| 1890s | #349 | #787 |
| 1900s | #445 | #1345 |
| 1910s | #513 | #2358 |
| 1920s | #605 | #2589 |
| 1930s | #677 | #3214 |
| 1940s | #753 | #2744 |
| 1950s | #798 | #2958 |
| 1960s | #847 | #3830 |
| 1970s | #831 | #4790 |
| 1980s | #726 | #5977 |
| 1990s | #711 | #7228 |
| 2000s | #503 | #6479 |
| 2010s | #448 | #2693 |
| 2020s | #310 | #375 |
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.
Saint
Holy, consecrated
From Latin sanctus, the past participle of sancire, "to consecrate." In English the word became the title placed before a canonized person's name.
sancire (Latin) → sanctus → saint (Old French) → seint (Middle English) → Saint
How it traveled
The root is the Latin verb sancire, to make sacred; its participle sanctus was used in the early Church for the holy dead, and Old French wore it down to saint. Middle English borrowed it whole, and it settled into English mostly as a title and as an element in place names and surnames — St.
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.
Saint
SAYNT
Exactly like the English word. One syllable, no regional variation to speak of.
- Sainty — An informal family diminutive; it does not stand alone as a given name.
- Saint — The name is short enough that most bearers simply go by it in full, formal and informal alike.
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, Saint 1
- 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 Saint
Choose Saint if you want…
- a name on the way upup 304 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesSaint is 1 syllable to Cyrus's 2
- a newer arrivalSaint entered the US charts in 1896
- a name that feels very nowSaint is climbing the charts fast
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.
Saint
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation are already known to every English speaker — nothing to repeat, correct or dictate over the phone.
- A single syllable, which sits easily in front of long or multi-syllable surnames.
- The root travels: Santo, Santos and San are recognizable across Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
To consider
- It is an explicitly religious word, and it announces itself as one. In some families that is the point; in others it may invite more comment at introductions than a parent expects.
- The "he's no saint" joke is easy and will get made, in school and later. Most bearers grow a shrug for it, but it is worth knowing it is coming.
- Almost everyone carrying it is a small child, and the name is climbing quickly. It will feel distinctly of this moment for a long while, and it may be noticeably less rare by the time your child reaches school.
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.
Saint
58%chance Saint feels dated by 2040
Saint 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 Saint 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 Saint?
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 Saint each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Cyrus or Saint — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Cyrus or Saint?
- Saint, in 2025: Saint ranked #267 with 1,286 babies; Cyrus ranked #268 with 1,284 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Cyrus or Saint?
- Saint. Over the last five years Cyrus moved up 101 places; Saint moved up 304 places.
- Which is the older name, Cyrus or Saint?
- Cyrus was already in use when US records began in 1880; Saint entered the US charts in 1896. On the American record, Cyrus is the older name.
- How many people are named Cyrus and Saint?
- About 24,500 people named Cyrus are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 6,900 people named Saint are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Cyruss or Saints in the classroom?
- Cyrus will almost certainly be the only one in school. Saint 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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