Kirke

Boys' name

Form of Circe

Kirke has been given to 71 babies in the U.S. since 1934. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1938, with 8 recorded.

Babies named Kirke, 1964

1 in 648,000

Kirke over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Kirke: meaning, origin, and history

Form of Circe

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Kirke means

Kirke is a form of Circe.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Kirke is used in Greek Mythology.

Another recorded pronunciation is /kír.kɛː/ for Kirke.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Kirke → Circe. The family’s proposed meaning is “hawk”, recorded in the naming reference for Circe.

Origin, language, and formation

Kirke is used in Estonian.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Circe.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 71 boys were recorded with the name Kirke between 1934 and 1964. Its highest annual count was 8 in 1938; its best national rank was #2,765 in 1938.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Kirke?

Kirke had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1964, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1964: 1 in 648,000; 6 of 3,887,460 births
Among boys only: 1 in 332,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 1964: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 449,098 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Kirke sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1964 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 449,098 children born in 1964 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Kirke. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Kirkes were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Kirke was born before 1952 — so the typical Kirke is around 73 today.

Median birth year: 1952; About 73 years old
Biggest decade: 1950s; 40.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 81.7%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 46; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1950s — 40.8% of all recorded uses (29).

Is Kirke rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1938 (8)
Years since peak: 87; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Shifting; 13.3% average annual change
Best rank ever: #2,765; 1938

Spellings of Kirke

Kirke is not the most common spelling — Mike is, with 58.5% against Kirke's 0.02%.

Mike58.5%205,861
Kirk19.3%68,067
Kyrie5.3%18,612
Kirby4.1%14,532
Dirk3.1%10,955
Kyree2.3%8,202
Ike2.1%7,342
Burke1.2%4,118

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Kirke by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #2,765; 1938
Peak year: 1938; 8 that year
First recorded: 1934
Last recorded: 1964
All-time count: 71
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Kirke

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Kiril Kiree Kiryn Kiren Kiram Kirav Kirtan Kiro Kirian Kiros Kirin Kirtus Kirtis Kiron Kirill Kirubel Kire Rorke Kira Kirklin Berke Kiry Kirklan Marke

Sibling names for Kirke

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Beverley Melva Marlys Nelda Marlyn Arleen Shirlee Pearlie

For a brother

Sherwood Rayford Carol Ned Huey Errol Shirley Boyce

Explore around Kirke

Top names of 1938, Kirke's peak year The 1930s in full Other names that peaked in 1938 Boys' names starting with K