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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 the Great; and Cyrus the Younger (died 401 BC), brother to the Persian King Artaxerxes II of Persia.

Etymology

Cyrus, as a word in English, is the Latinized form of the Greek Κῦρος, ''Kȳros'', from Old Persian ''Kūruš''. According to the inscriptions the name is reflected in Elamite ''Kuraš'', Babylonian ''Ku(r)-raš/-ra-áš'' and Imperial Aramaic ''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, linguists, 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 Old Persian meaning (''I am Cyrus the Achaemenian#Achaemenid kings and leaders, Achaemenian King''). After a questionable proposal by the German linguist F. H. Weissbach that Darius the Great was the first to inscribe in Old Persian, Persian, 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 (46 - 120) states that "the sun, which, in the Old Persian, Persian language, 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 I of Constantinople#Writings, Photios that the name Cyrus is from Persian word "Khur" (the sun).Epitome of Ctesias' Persic
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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 languages, Indo-European 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 Proto-Indo-European language, IE ''Kúru-'' from Old Indic 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 that refers to the common Iranian root "kur-" (be born) of many words in Old, middle, and new Iranian languages (e.g. Kurdish language, Kurdish). 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 (German historian), 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 ( BC), King of Anshan
*Cyrus the Great ( 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
*Cyrus the Younger (died 401 BC), brother to the Persian King Artaxerxes
*Cyrus (architect), 1st century Greek architect who worked in Rome
*Saint Cyrus (see Cyrus and John), 4th century Coptic saint
*Cyrus I of Edessa, bishop (d. 396)
*Cyrus II of Edessa, 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 (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 (born 1994), Team GB Boxer
*Cyrus Christie (born 1992), professional footballer who plays as right back for Middlesbrough F.C.
*Cyrus Chothia (1942–2019), British scientist
*Cyrus Edwin Dallin (1861-1944), American sculptor
*Cyrus S. Eaton (1883-1979), Canadian-American banker, investor and philanthropist
*Cyrus Edwards (1793-1877), American politician and lawyer
*Cyrus West Field (1819-1892), American businessman who successfully laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable
*Cyrus Frisch (born 1969), Dutch film director
*Cyrus Herzl Gordon (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 (1889-1983), American editorial cartoonist
*Cy Kendall (1898–1953), American actor
*Cyrus B. Lower (1843-1924), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient
*Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884), American inventor who developed the modern mechanical reaper
*Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (born 1968), Irish-Indian businessman and Chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Group
*Cyrus Mistry (writer) (born 1956), Indian author and playwright
*Cyrus Patell (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 (born 1976), national squash coach in India
*Cyrus S. Poonawalla (fl. 1966–present), Indian businessman
*Cyrus Rollocks (born 1998), Canadian soccer player
*Cyrus Sahukar (born 1980), MTV India VJ
*C. R. Smith (1899-1990), longtime CEO of American Airlines
*Cyrus Vance, Cyrus Vance Sr. (1917-2002), American politician and lawyer, U.S. Secretary of the Army under President of the United States, Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, U.S. Secretary of Defense under Lyndon B. Johnson and U.S. Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter
**Cyrus Vance Jr. (born 1954), American politician and lawyer, son of Cyrus Sr. and former Manhattan New York County District Attorney, District Attorney (2010-2021)
*Cyrus Villanueva, Australian singer who won ''The X Factor Australia'' in 2015

Surname

*Ron Cyrus (1935–2006), Kentucky 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 (born 1992), American actress and singer, daughter of Billy Ray
***Noah Cyrus (born 2000), American actress, daughter of Billy Ray
*Gordon Cyrus, Swedish performer and record producer
*David Cyrus (born 1986), Grenadian footballer

In literature

* The Garden of Cyrus (1658) is the title of a discourse by the English physician-philosopher Thomas Browne.

Fictional characters

*Cyrus, from James Riley (writer)#The Revenge of Magic series, ''The Revenge of Magic'' book series by James Riely.
*Cyrus Beene, from television series ''Scandal''
*Cyrus Trask, from John Steinbeck's novel ''East of Eden (novel), East of Eden''
*Cyrus Bortel, from the animated TV series ''Kim Possible''
*Cyrus Goodman, from ''Andi Mack'' and Disney Channel’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''
*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 ''List of characters in The Warriors#Cyrus, The Warriors''
*Cyrus (Pokémon), Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic and the main antagonist of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, ''Pokémon Diamond'', ''Pearl'', and Pokémon Platinum, ''Platinum''
*Cyrus Gold, the DC Comics character ''Solomon Grundy (comics), Solomon Grundy''
*Cyrus Smith, the leading character in Jules Verne's novel ''Mysterious Island''
*Cyrus, a vampaneze from the novel ''The Vampire Prince'' by Darren Shan
*Cyrus (Chrono Trigger), 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''
*Dr Cyrus Borg, Creator of P.I.X.A.L, CEO of Borg Industries in ''Ninjago (TV series), 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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See also

*Koresh (disambiguation)
*Syrus
*Cambyses II#Etymology

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English masculine given names
Masculine given names