Cybil
Feminine · “A spelling of Sibyl”
Cybil is Sibyl written with a C, a spelling that looks like the Phrygian goddess Cybele. The best-known Cybill got her name by joining her grandfather's and her father's.
How old is the name Cybil?
Cybil first appears in US birth records in 1970 — 55 years ago. The typical Cybil alive today was born around 1984, making them about 41 years old. About 600 people named Cybil are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cybil most popular?
Cybil peaked in 1975, reaching #1877 nationally. See the whole 1975 chart.
Where it comes from
From sibylla to Cybil
The story of Cybil
The actress Cybill Shepherd has said her name joins her grandfather's, Cy, and her father's, Bill. The C also recalls Cybele, the great mother goddess of Phrygia: during the war with Hannibal, the Romans brought her sacred black stone from Asia Minor to Rome and built her a temple on the Palatine. Cybil is one of the spellings American families used for Sibyl.
Meaning
A spelling of Sibyl, 'prophetess'
Sibyl comes from Greek sibylla, a prophetess. Cybil writes it with a C and an i.
How the name formed
- sibylla
- Sibyl
- Cybil
Related forms: Sybil · Sibyl · Sibilla
Pronouncing Cybil
SIB-il
Two syllables with the stress on the first.
Nicknames for Cybil
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1970
- Most girls named
- 197548 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1877reached in 1975
- Change vs 2023
- −25.0%6 in 2024, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Cybil in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sybil in English — spelling variant
- Sibyl in English — spelling variant
- Sibilla in Italian — same name
Cybils among us
people named Cybil are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Cybil sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short and easy to say.
- A settled meaning.
- Rare, so a Cybil is unlikely to share her name.
- People will write Sybil or Sibyl.
- Some will think of the book and film Sybil, about a woman with many personalities.
- It sounds like a name of its era.
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What they receive
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Cybil
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Cybils are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Cybil are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cybil in 2025?
- Cybil is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Cybil with classmates?
- Cybil will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cybil? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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