boy's name
Byron
BY-ren
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 86,841
the United States
#983
2025 births
Byron means at the cattle sheds — a working place name that became shorthand for romantic poetry, which is a longer journey than most names make. Its strongest market is the United States, at 983rd.
- Byron is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1964, when 1,289 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 14,229 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Byron over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 498 |
| 1890s | 547 |
| 1900s | 616 |
| 1910s | 3,525 |
| 1920s | 5,519 |
| 1930s | 4,841 |
| 1940s | 6,541 |
| 1950s | 10,547 |
| 1960s | 12,184 |
| 1970s | 9,531 |
| 1980s | 9,730 |
| 1990s | 7,042 |
| 2000s | 5,337 |
| 2010s | 4,387 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,696 |
What Byron means
Byron means at the byres, or the place of the cattle sheds. The Old English names a working farm building, so the origin is agricultural rather than poetic.
Where Byron comes from
Byron is an English place name from the dative plural of byre, a cowshed — literally at the cattle sheds. It became a surname and then, through George Gordon, Lord Byron, an emblem of romantic excess: Byronic hero, Byronic collar, and a reputation his contemporary Lady Caroline Lamb summarised in three words. The name's use as a given name across the English-speaking world dates almost entirely from after his death at Missolonghi in 1824.
Byron in use
Byron peaked in the United States in 1964, when 1,289 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 983rd in the United States on 233 births, 1048th in Ireland on 3, 1995th in England and Wales on 13 and 3062nd in France, across 86,841 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Byron?
In 2025, Byron was given to 233 babies in the United States, ranking #983 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Byron is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Byron
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Byron also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Byron over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Byron in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Biron
Sibling names for Byron
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Byron — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Byron
What does the name Byron mean?
At the cattle sheds — from byre, a cowshed.
Is it named after the poet?
Its use as a given name dates almost entirely from after his death in 1824.
What does Byronic mean?
The brooding romantic type he came to stand for — a reputation built in his lifetime.
How popular is Byron?
983rd in the United States, down from a 1964 peak of 1,289 births.
Is Byron a girl's or a boy's name?
Byron is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Byron?
Byron has 2 syllables.
Is Byron a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Byron currently ranks #983 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.