Sirius
Masculine · “scorching”
Sirius is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 724 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, and its Greek name says what it does: the scorching one. The Egyptians timed their year by its return and the Romans blamed it for the heat of August.
How old is the name Sirius?
Sirius first appears in US birth records in 1999 — 26 years ago. The typical Sirius is a kid of about 7 — this name's wave is very recent. About 700 people named Sirius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sirius most popular?
Sirius peaked in 2022, reaching #2325 nationally. Today it ranks #3450, 1,125 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From seirios to Sirius
The story of Sirius
Sirius rises just before the sun in high summer, and ancient Mediterranean peoples connected its appearance with the heat — hence the dog days. Egyptian astronomers used its heliacal rising to predict the Nile flood, which made it the anchor of their calendar. Its use as a given name is very recent and English-speaking, helped by a character in a widely read series of children's novels who carries the name.
Meaning
scorching, glowing
From Greek seirios, burning or scorching; the star sits in the constellation of the Great Dog, which is why its rising was called the dog days and why hot late summer carries that name still.
How the name formed
- seirios
- Sirius
Related forms: Sirius · Shira
Pronouncing Sirius
SEER-ee-us
Three syllables, first stressed. Some English speakers say SY-ree-us.
Nicknames for Sirius
Moderate
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
- 1999
- Most boys named
- 202261 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2325reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- −36.5%33 in 2025, from 52
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.
Sirius in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sirius in Latin — same name
- Shira in Arabic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Ohio.
Siriuss among us
people named Sirius are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 51,760 born in 2025 was named Sirius
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Conlan test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Sirius's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Conlan climbed just as high around 2005, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Conlan's path sketches the road Sirius is walking now.
Sirius sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Sirius is headed
Sirius should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Sirius beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sirius in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning tied to the brightest star in the sky and a real calendar tradition.
- The word is familiar to anyone who has looked at a star chart.
- It is entirely distinct from every other name in an American classroom.
- It sounds nearly identical to the English word serious, and the joke will be made constantly.
- The children's-book character is the first association for a whole generation.
- The Siri clip now belongs to a piece of software.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Sirius to the vote.
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What they receive
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Sirius
Masculine · #3450 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Siriuss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Sirius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sirius in 2025?
- Sirius ranks #3450 among US boy names in 2025, with 33 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sirius?
- About 1 in every 51,760 US boys born in 2025 was named Sirius — 33 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sirius with classmates?
- Sirius will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sirius
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Sabastian#3450 · Luc#3450 · Deshaun#3450 · Trayvon#3450 · Blade#3450 · Oz#3450 · Josiyah#3450 · Fausto#3450
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sirius? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sirius and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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