Cyrus (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of

Persian kings This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of the ...

. Most notably it refers to

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus the Great; and

Cyrus the Younger Cyrus the Younger ( peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ''Kūruš''; grc-gre, Κῦρος ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC i ...

(died 401 BC), brother to the Persian King Artaxerxes II of Persia.

Etymology

Cyrus, as a word in English, is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

ized form of the Greek Κῦρος, ''Kȳros'', from

Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...

''Kūruš''. According to the inscriptions the name is reflected in

Elamite Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was used in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite works disappear from the archeological record ...

''Kuraš'', Babylonian ''Ku(r)-raš/-ra-áš'' and

Imperial Aramaic Imperial Aramaic is a linguistic term, coined by modern scholars in order to designate a specific historical variety of Aramaic language. The term is polysemic, with two distinctive meanings, wider (sociolinguistic) and narrower (dialectological ...

''kwrš''. The modern Persian form of the name is '' Kūroš''. The etymology of Cyrus has been and continues to be a topic of discussion amongst

historians A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

linguists Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

, and scholars of Iranology. The Old Persian name "kuruš" has been interpreted in various forms such as "the Sun", "like Sun", "young", "hero," and "humiliator of the enemy in verbal contest" and the Elamite "kuraš" has been translated as one "who bestows care". The name has appeared on many monuments and inscriptions in Old Persian. There is also the record of a small inscription in Morghab (southwestern Iran) on which there is the sentence (''adam kūruš xšāyaθiya haxāmanišiya'') in

meaning (''I am Cyrus the

Achaemenian The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

King''). After a questionable proposal by the German linguist F. H. Weissbach that

Darius the Great Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his d ...

was the first to inscribe in

, it had previously been concluded by some scholars that the inscription in Morghab refers to Cyrus the Younger. This proposal was the result of a false interpretation of a passage in paragraph 70 of Behistun inscription by Darius the Great. Based on many arguments, the accepted theory among modern scholars is that the inscription does belong to Cyrus the Great. There are interpretations of name of Cyrus by classical authors identifying with or referring to the Persian word for “Sun”. The Historian

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

(46 - 120) states that "the sun, which, in the

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...

, is called Cyrus". Also the Physician Ctesias who served in the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes II of Persia writes in his book ''Persica'' as summarized by Photios that the name Cyrus is from Persian word "Khur" (the sun).Epitome of Ctesias' Persic
52
These are, however, not accepted by modern scholars. Regarding the etymology of Old Persian ''kuruš'', linguists have proposed various etymologies based on Iranian languages as well as non-

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...

ones. According to Tavernier, the name ''kuraš'', attested in Elamite texts, is likely "the original form" as there is no Elamite or Babylonian spelling ''ku-ru-uš'' in the transcriptions of Old Persian ''ku-u-r(u)-u-š''. That is, according to Tavernier, ''kuraš'' is an Elamite name and means "to bestow care". Others, such as Schmitt, Hoffmann maintain that the Persian ''Kuruš'', which according to Skalmowsky, may be connected to (or a borrowing from) the IE ''Kúru-'' from

Old Indic The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, Pa ...

can give an etymology of the Elamite ''kuraš''. In this regard the Old Persian ''kuruš'' is considered with the following etymologies: One proposal is discussed by the linguist

Janos Harmatta János or Janos may refer to: * János, male Hungarian given name, a variant of John Places * Janos Municipality, a municipality of Chihuahua ** Janos, Chihuahua, town in Mexico ** Janos Biosphere Reserve, a nature reserve in Chihuahua * Janos ...

that refers to the common Iranian root "kur-" (be born) of many words in Old, middle, and new

Iranian languages The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are grouped ...

(e.g.

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

). Accordingly, the name Kūruš means "young, youth...". Other Iranian etymologies have been proposed. The Indian proposal of Skalmowsky goes down to "to do, accomplish". Another theory is the suggestion of Karl Hoffmann that ''kuruš'' goes down to a ''-ru'' derivation from the IE root ''*(s)kau'' meaning "to humiliate" and accordingly "kuruš" (hence "Cyrus") means "''humiliator'' (of the enemy in verbal contest)". People and fictional characters named Cyrus include:

People

Given name

Ancient world

Cyrus I Cyrus I (Old Persian: ''Kuruš'') or Cyrus I of Anshan or Cyrus I of Persia, was King of Anshan in Persia from to 580 BC or, according to others, from to 600 BC. Cyrus I of Anshan is the grandfather of Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus II. ...

( BC), King of Anshan *

( BC or 576 BC–530 BC) – also known as Cyrus II – the grandson of Cyrus I, an Achaemenid ruler and founder of the Great Persian Empire *

(died 401 BC), brother to the Persian King Artaxerxes *

Cyrus (architect) Cyrus (died 52 BC) was an architect at Rome from before 60 BC to his death in 52. He was an acquaintance of and erstwhile builder for Cicero and his family, and his unexpected death on January 18, 52 BC, is said to have brought about one of the mos ...

, 1st century Greek architect who worked in Rome *Saint Cyrus (see

Cyrus and John Saints Cyrus and John ( it, Ciro e Giovanni; ar, أباكير ويوحنا, Abākīr wa-Yūḥannā; died or 311 AD) are venerated as martyrs. They are especially venerated by the Coptic Church and surnamed Wonderworking Unmercenaries (''thaum ...

), 4th century Coptic saint *

Cyrus I of Edessa Cyrus I (died 396) was the bishop of Edessa. He succeeded Eulogius, who died on Good Friday 387 (year 698 of the Seleucid era)., pp. 28–45, at 83. According to the ''Chronicle of Edessa'', on 22 August 394 (705) Cyrus moved the relics (bones) of ...

, bishop (d. 396) *

Cyrus II of Edessa Cyrus II (Syriac language, Syriac: ''Qiyore''Adam H. Becker"Edessa, School of" in ''Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition'', edited by Sebastian P. Brock, Aaron M. Butts, George A. Kiraz and Lucas Van Rompay (Gor ...

, bishop (d. 498) * Cyrus of Alexandria (d. 642), Melkite Patriarch and co-founder of Monothelism * Cyrus of Panopolis, 5th-century Byzantine writer and official

Modern era

Cyrus Leroy Baldridge Cyrus Leroy Baldridge (May 27, 1889 – June 6, 1977) was an artist, illustrator, author and adventurer. He was born to William Baldridge and Eliza Burgdorf Baldridge, in Alton, New York in 1889. When very young, his mother left his father and b ...

(1889-1977), American artist, illustrator, author and adventurer * Cyrus Townsend Brady (1861-1920), American journalist, historian and adventure writer * Cyrus Broacha (born 1971), MTV India VJ *

Cyrus Ramone Pattinson Cyrus Ramone Pattinson (born 6 April 1994) is a British professional boxer and was an amateur boxer for Great Britain and Birtley ABC Personal life Born in Ashington, Pattinson was raised on various council estates in a Northumberland town, Al ...

(born 1994), Team GB Boxer *

Cyrus Christie Cyrus Sylvester Frederick Christie (born 30 September 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Championship club Hull City and the Republic of Ireland national team. Early and personal life Christie was born in Coventry, ...

(born 1992), professional footballer who plays as right back for Middlesbrough F.C. *

Cyrus Chothia Cyrus Homi Chothia (19 February 1942 – 26 November 2019) was an English biochemist who was an emeritus scientist at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) at the University of Cambridge and emeritus fellow ...

(1942–2019), British scientist * Cyrus Edwin Dallin (1861-1944), American sculptor *

Cyrus S. Eaton Cyrus Stephen Eaton Sr. (December 27, 1883 – May 9, 1979) was a Canadian-American investment banker, businessman and philanthropist, with a career that spanned seventy years. For decades Eaton was one of the most powerful financiers in the ...

(1883-1979), Canadian-American banker, investor and philanthropist *

Cyrus Edwards Cyrus Edwards (June 17, 1793 – August 31, 1877) was an American lawyer and politician. Edwards was born in Montgomery County, Maryland. He moved with his family to Kentucky. Edwards studied law and was admitted to the Illinois bar in Kaskask ...

(1793-1877), American politician and lawyer *

Cyrus West Field Cyrus West Field (November 30, 1819July 12, 1892) was an American businessman and financier who, along with other entrepreneurs, created the Atlantic Telegraph Company and laid the first telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean in 1858. Early ...

(1819-1892), American businessman who successfully laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable *

Cyrus Frisch Cyrus Frisch (born 1969 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch avant-garde film maker. ''Filmmaker'' magazine called him the wild man of Dutch film. According to Holland Film, Frisch is one of the most daring film makers currently working in the Netherland ...

(born 1969), Dutch film director *

Cyrus Herzl Gordon Cyrus Herzl Gordon (June 29, 1908 – March 30, 2001) was an American scholar of Near Eastern cultures and ancient languages. Biography Gordon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Lithuanian emigrant and physician Benjamin Gordon. H ...

(1908 – 2001) was an American scholar of Near Eastern cultures and ancient languages. * Cyrus Hamlin (general) (1839-1867), Union general during American Civil War, son of Vice President Hannibal Hamlin *

Cy Hungerford Cyrus Cotton Hungerford (June 27, 1888 – May 25, 1983) was an American editorial cartoonist who produced daily cartoons for the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' from 1927 until his retirement in 1977. His many awards included a Golden Quill Award (196 ...

(1889-1983), American editorial cartoonist * Cy Kendall (1898–1953), American actor *

Cyrus B. Lower Cyrus B. Lower (February 28, 1843 – May 21, 1924) was a United States soldier who fought with the Union Army during the American Civil War as a private in the 13th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment (also known as the "Bucktails" or 42nd Pennsyl ...

(1843-1924), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient * Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884), American inventor who developed the modern mechanical reaper *

Cyrus Pallonji Mistry Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (4 July 1968 – 4 September 2022) was an Indian businessman. He was the chairman of the Tata Group, an Indian business conglomerate, from 2012 to 2016. He was the sixth chairman of the group, and only the second (af ...

(born 1968), Irish-Indian businessman and Chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Group *

Cyrus Mistry (writer) Cyrus Mistry (March 11, 1956) is an Indian author and playwright. He won the 2014 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for '' Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer''. He is the brother of author Rohinton Mistry. Mistry is from Mumbai. He began writing at ...

(born 1956), Indian author and playwright *

Cyrus Patell Cyrus R. K. Patell (born October 9, 1961) is a literary and cultural critic who writes and teaches on World literature with a focus on US literature. He is currently Professor of English at New York University (NYU) and Global Network Professor o ...

(born 1961), American literary and cultural critic * Cyrus Peirce (1790-1860), founder of first public normal school (teachers' college) in the United States *

Cyrus Poncha Cyrus Poncha is an Indian squash administrator and coach. Born in Mumbai, he is currently based out of Chennai, and coaches at the ICL-TNSRA Squash Academy. Presently, he is the Secretary General of Squash Rackets Federation of India. He is a Dr ...

(born 1976), national squash coach in India *

Cyrus S. Poonawalla Cyrus S. Poonawalla (born in 1941) is an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman and managing director of the Cyrus Poonawalla Group, which includes the Serum Institute of India, an Indian biotech company which is the largest vaccine m ...

(fl. 1966–present), Indian businessman *

Cyrus Rollocks Cyrus Kamron Rollocks (born 23 March 1998) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for League1 Ontario club Scrosoppi FC. Club career In 2015, Rollocks played for Toronto FC Academy in League1 Ontario, finishing fourth i ...

(born 1998), Canadian soccer player * Cyrus Sahukar (born 1980), MTV India VJ *

C. R. Smith Cyrus Rowlett "C.R." Smith (September 9, 1899 – April 4, 1990) was the CEO of American Airlines from 1934 to 1968 and from 1973 to 1974. He was also the wartime deputy commander of the Air Transport Command during World War II, and the United ...

(1899-1990), longtime CEO of American Airlines * Cyrus Vance Sr. (1917-2002), American politician and lawyer,

U.S. Secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...

under Presidents

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

and Lyndon B. Johnson,

U.S. Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The se ...

under Lyndon B. Johnson and U.S. Secretary of State under

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

Cyrus Vance Jr. Cyrus Roberts Vance Jr. (born June 14, 1954) is an American attorney and politician who served as the New York County District Attorney, District Attorney of Manhattan, New York County, New York (state), New York, also known as the Manhattan Dis ...

(born 1954), American politician and lawyer, son of Cyrus Sr. and former

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

(2010-2021) * Cyrus Villanueva, Australian singer who won ''The X Factor Australia'' in 2015

Surname

Ron Cyrus Ronald Ray Cyrus (July 10, 1935 – February 28, 2006) was an American politician and public servant in Greenup County, Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to Kentucky House of Representatives for 11 consecutive terms, from ...

(1935–2006),

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

politician, and his descendants: ** Billy Ray Cyrus (born 1961), American musician and actor, son of Ron *** Trace Cyrus (born 1989), American musician, (former) lead guitarist of Metro Station, stepson and adopted son of Billy Ray ***

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

(born 1992), American actress and singer, daughter of Billy Ray ***

Noah Cyrus Noah Lindsey Cyrus (born January 8, 2000) is an American singer and actress. As a child actress she voiced the titular character in the English dub of the film ''Ponyo'' (2008), as well as having minor roles on shows like ''Hannah Montana'' and ' ...

(born 2000), American actress, daughter of Billy Ray * Gordon Cyrus, Swedish performer and record producer *

David Cyrus David Cyrus (born 8 March 1989) is a Grenadian international footballer who plays as a defender for Inglewood United in the NPL Western Australia. Career Cyrus has played club football in England for Bradford Park Avenue, Ossett Town and mo ...

(born 1986), Grenadian footballer

In literature

The Garden of Cyrus ''The Garden of Cyrus'', or ''The Quincuncial Lozenge, or Network Plantations of the Ancients, naturally, artificially, mystically considered'', is a discourse by Sir Thomas Browne. First published in 1658, along with its diptych companion '' ...

(1658) is the title of a discourse by the English physician-philosopher

Thomas Browne Sir Thomas Browne (; 19 October 160519 October 1682) was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. His writings display a deep curi ...

Fictional characters

*Cyrus, from ''The Revenge of Magic'' book series by James Riely. *Cyrus Beene, from television series ''Scandal'' *Cyrus Trask, from

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

's novel '' East of Eden'' *

Cyrus Bortel This is a list of characters appearing in the animated series ''Kim Possible''. Overview Team Possible Kim Possible * Voiced by Christy Carlson Romano and Dakota Fanning (young) * Portrayed by Sadie Stanley Kimberly Ann "Kim" Possible is a ...

, from the animated TV series ''Kim Possible'' *

Cyrus Goodman Cyrus Goodman is a fictional main character in the American family comedy-drama television series ''Andi Mack'' on Disney Channel. The character is portrayed by Joshua Rush and first appeared on television in the pilot episode, " Tomorrow Start ...

, from '' Andi Mack'' and

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

’s first gay main character * Cyrus Lupo, a detective from ''Law & Order'' * Cyrus Simpson, the brother of Abraham Simpson in ''The Simpsons'' *Cyrus, from the TV series ''

Trailer Park Boys ''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary sitcom television series created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer pa ...

'' *Cyrus, from the animated series '' Sonic Underground'' * Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, in the 1997 film Con Air, played by John Malkovich *Cyrus, a gang leader in the 1979 film '' The Warriors'' *

Cyrus Cyrus (Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus t ...

, the leader of Team Galactic and the main antagonist of ''Pokémon Diamond'', ''Pearl'', and ''Platinum'' *Cyrus Gold, the DC Comics character '' Solomon Grundy'' * Cyrus Smith, the leading character in Jules Verne's novel ''

Mysterious Island ''The Mysterious Island'' (french: L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1875. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's fam ...

'' *Cyrus, a vampaneze from the novel '' The Vampire Prince'' by Darren Shan *

Cyrus (Chrono Trigger) This is a listing of notable characters from the video game ''Chrono Trigger'', a role-playing video game released in 1995 by Square (video game company), Square Co. (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console ...

, in the video game ''Chrono Trigger'' *Cyrus, a Redguard pirate and hero in the video game '' The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard'' *Cyrus Albright, one of the 8 main protagonists of the video game ''

Octopath Traveler ''Octopath Traveler'' is a role-playing video game developed by Square Enix, in collaboration with Acquire. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch in July 2018, for Microsoft Windows in June 2019, for Stadia in April 2020, and for Xbox ...

'' *Dr Cyrus Borg, Creator of P.I.X.A.L, CEO of Borg Industries in '' LEGO: Ninjago'' *Cyrus, an NPC in the video game '' Genshin Impact'' *Cyrus, an alpaca NPC introduced in '' Animal Crossing: New Leaf''

Notes

References

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