Darius
Darius was given to 322 boys in 2025, #788 among boys’ names; 54,278 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 51,500 Americans named Darius and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (95% of everyone recorded); the median is 29 years old and half are between 20 and 36.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Darius by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Darius mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Darius is “a male given name from Old Persian.”
Borrowed from Latin Dārīus, from Ancient Greek Δᾱρεῖος (Dāreîos), from Old Persian 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (Dārayauš), shortened form of 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (Dārayavaʰuš); see there for more.
/ˈdæɹi.əs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Darius?
#788 among boys’ names, 2025
Darius fell from #502 in 2015 to #788 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.30 to 0.19 per 1,000.
2,200 babies in 1994, the peak
Darius peaked in 1994, when 2,200 babies were given it (2,184 boys, #155 among boys’ names). The 322 births of 2025 are 15% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 322 | #788 | 0.19 |
| 2024 | 344 | #746 | 0.20 |
| 2023 | 367 | #723 | 0.21 |
| 2022 | 402 | #679 | 0.23 |
| 2021 | 434 | #636 | 0.25 |
| 2020 | 469 | #592 | 0.27 |
| 2019 | 491 | #567 | 0.27 |
| 2018 | 553 | #510 | 0.30 |
| 2017 | 584 | #495 | 0.32 |
| 2016 | 584 | #511 | 0.31 |
Every recorded year (120)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 579 | #502 | 0.30 |
| 2014 | 614 | #473 | 0.32 |
| 2013 | 718 | #410 | 0.38 |
| 2012 | 730 | #399 | 0.38 |
| 2011 | 766 | #380 | 0.40 |
| 2010 | 929 | #337 | 0.48 |
| 2009 | 956 | #333 | 0.48 |
| 2008 | 1,052 | #318 | 0.52 |
| 2007 | 1,090 | #306 | 0.53 |
| 2006 | 1,244 | #278 | 0.61 |
| 2005 | 1,134 | #291 | 0.57 |
| 2004 | 1,117 | #284 | 0.56 |
| 2003 | 1,289 | #255 | 0.65 |
| 2002 | 1,422 | #237 | 0.73 |
| 2001 | 1,568 | #218 | 0.81 |
| 2000 | 1,564 | #220 | 0.80 |
| 1999 | 1,703 | #199 | 0.89 |
| 1998 | 2,131 | #162 | 1.1 |
| 1997 | 1,890 | #177 | 1.0 |
| 1996 | 1,768 | #182 | 0.93 |
| 1995 | 1,932 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1994 | 2,184 | #155 | 1.1 |
| 1993 | 1,983 | #161 | 1.0 |
| 1992 | 1,923 | #164 | 1.0 |
| 1991 | 2,118 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1990 | 2,033 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1989 | 1,504 | #194 | 0.75 |
| 1988 | 948 | #249 | 0.50 |
| 1987 | 902 | #253 | 0.48 |
| 1986 | 650 | #313 | 0.35 |
| 1985 | 609 | #326 | 0.33 |
| 1984 | 601 | #321 | 0.33 |
| 1983 | 489 | #361 | 0.27 |
| 1982 | 493 | #362 | 0.27 |
| 1981 | 484 | #363 | 0.27 |
| 1980 | 497 | #356 | 0.28 |
| 1979 | 460 | #374 | 0.27 |
| 1978 | 351 | #420 | 0.21 |
| 1977 | 361 | #415 | 0.22 |
| 1976 | 273 | #481 | 0.17 |
| 1975 | 307 | #458 | 0.20 |
| 1974 | 297 | #465 | 0.19 |
| 1973 | 285 | #462 | 0.18 |
| 1972 | 292 | #460 | 0.18 |
| 1971 | 259 | #505 | 0.15 |
| 1970 | 259 | #502 | 0.14 |
| 1969 | 221 | #529 | 0.12 |
| 1968 | 172 | #576 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 165 | #590 | 0.09 |
| 1966 | 125 | #661 | 0.07 |
| 1965 | 124 | #665 | 0.07 |
| 1964 | 124 | #693 | 0.06 |
| 1963 | 128 | #686 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 109 | #734 | 0.05 |
| 1961 | 98 | #777 | 0.05 |
| 1960 | 85 | #825 | 0.04 |
| 1959 | 73 | #899 | 0.03 |
| 1958 | 79 | #850 | 0.04 |
| 1957 | 77 | #853 | 0.04 |
| 1956 | 55 | #1,011 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 67 | #909 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 58 | #976 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 44 | #1,104 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 60 | #914 | 0.03 |
| 1951 | 41 | #1,122 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 33 | #1,259 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 29 | #1,352 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 29 | #1,352 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 33 | #1,276 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 39 | #1,113 | 0.02 |
| 1945 | 15 | #1,795 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 25 | #1,337 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 19 | #1,650 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 19 | #1,641 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 23 | #1,421 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 21 | #1,482 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 25 | #1,328 | 0.02 |
| 1938 | 11 | #2,216 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 20 | #1,543 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 16 | #1,743 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 15 | #1,853 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 18 | #1,672 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 15 | #1,845 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 15 | #1,935 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 16 | #1,866 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 19 | #1,707 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 13 | #2,231 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 14 | #2,185 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 25 | #1,525 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 20 | #1,740 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 16 | #2,025 | 0.01 |
| 1924 | 21 | #1,736 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 17 | #1,961 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 20 | #1,778 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 16 | #2,078 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 16 | #2,065 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 17 | #1,894 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 18 | #1,842 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 27 | #1,336 | 0.03 |
| 1916 | 16 | #1,868 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 13 | #2,092 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 12 | #1,890 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 9 | #1,978 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 9 | #1,772 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 7 | #1,338 | 0.04 |
| 1894 | 5 | #1,119 | 0.04 |
| 1892 | 5 | #1,103 | 0.04 |
| 1886 | 6 | #870 | 0.05 |
| 1882 | 6 | #860 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 10 | #608 | 0.09 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Darius a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Darius has been given almost only to boys: 272 girls in 120 years of records.
Girls and boys named Darius: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Darius, and how old are they?
51,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 95% of the 54,278 Americans ever recorded as Darius. The median Darius alive today is 29 years old; half are between 20 and 36.
The 2020 Census counted 40,835 people named Darius (183 women and girls, 40,652 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 49,997 born in the U.S. The Census count is 18% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 66 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 884 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 4,020 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 19,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 20,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 6,410 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Darius born?
The states with the most babies named Darius are Texas, California and Florida, with 35% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 37 | #735 | 0.8× |
| California | 36 | #737 | 0.5× |
| Florida | 23 | #683 | 1.3× |
| New York | 21 | #698 | 0.7× |
| Georgia | 11 | #803 | 2.1× |
| Ohio | 11 | #764 | 0.8× |
| Missouri | 11 | #532 | 0.8× |
| Washington | 10 | #650 | 0.5× |
| North Carolina | 9 | #883 | 1.8× |
| Virginia | 9 | #747 | 1.4× |
Where Darius is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Darius is most over-represented in District of Columbia: since 1910 it was given 2.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Darius with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 68,387 babies since 1880, Darius is the most given (79% of them). In 2025 it was given to 322 of their 378 babies (85%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Darius
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Darius and names like it
- Compare Darius and DarriusBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sDarius peaked in 1994.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Darius since 1910.
- The top names of 1994The year the most babies were named Darius.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Darius alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with DMost given first.