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Perseus

#1,210 in 2025Boys' name

Possibly to destroy

Perseus has been given to 1,422 babies in the U.S. since 1983. In 2025 it ranked #1,210 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2025, with 168 recorded.

Babies named Perseus, 2025

1 in 19,700

Perseus over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Perseus: meaning, origin, and history

Possibly to destroy

Ancient Greek

What Perseus means

Perseus may mean “to destroy”.

Origin, language, and formation

Perseus is used in Latin. Its origins include Ancient Greek.

Perseus comes through Ancient Greek Περσεύς.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Latin, Perseus is pronounced [ˈpɛr.sɛu̯s].

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,390 boys were recorded with the name Perseus between 1983 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 168 in 2025; its best national rank was #1,210 in 2025.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,523 in 2020 to #1,210 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #2,473 in 2015 to #1,210 in 2025.

In the United States, 32 girls were recorded with the name Perseus between 2007 and 2016. Its highest annual count was 7 in 2016; its best national rank was #14,005 in 2016.

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 Perseus?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 19,700
168 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 10,200
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,210
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
13,679 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Perseus 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 2025 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 5002%

Put another way: gather 13,679 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Perseus. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Perseuss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Perseus was born before 2021 — so the typical Perseus is around 4 today.

Median birth year
2021
About 4 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
58.5% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
99.2%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
1,390
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 58.5% of all recorded uses (813).

Is Perseus 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
+73
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+313
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+1,263
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
3.29×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
100.0%
Peak was 2025 (168)
Years since peak
Peaking now
At its all-time high
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
25.1% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,210
2025

Where Perseus is used

Across 2016–2025, Perseus was most concentrated in Indiana — about 1 in 11,111 boys, against 1 in 20,137 across all states with data. It was least common in Tennessee (1 in 100,000).

19 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Indiana1 in 11,111
  2. 2Colorado1 in 12,500
  3. 3Ohio1 in 14,286
  4. 4Washington1 in 14,286
  5. 5California1 in 16,667
  6. 6Florida1 in 16,667
  7. 7Texas1 in 16,667
  8. 8Iowa1 in 25,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Perseus around the world

Where Perseus ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2013–2025
    #2,664
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2010–2024
    #1,817
    in 2024

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics and Statistics Canada. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Perseus by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,210
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 313
Best rank ever
#1,210
2025
Peak year
2025
168 that year
First recorded
1983
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,390
Count in 2025
168

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#14,005
2016
Peak year
2016
7 that year
First recorded
2007
Last recorded
2016
All-time count
32
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Perseus

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

PernellPercivalPerrinMatheusAmadeusThadeusPercellPerrionPerceusAndreusPerleyMateusPerezTheseusPervisPerfectoPershingAtreusPeretzPeregrineOdysseusThaddaeusZaccheusAlpheus

Sibling names for Perseus

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

Explore around Perseus

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