MEANING & HISTORY
What does Darius mean?
Darius is the Latin form of Greek Dareios, from the Old Persian royal name Darayavauš and its shortened form Darayauš. Iranian linguist Rüdiger Schmitt analyzes the compound as holding firm the good: a holding element joined with the adjective good.
This is more precise than treating Darius simply as a wealthy ruler. The royal name passed through several ancient languages before the familiar Latin form developed, preserving a specifically Persian personal-name ancestry.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
English
- /ˈdæɹi.əs/US
- /ˈdɑɹi.əs/US
- /dəˈɹaɪ.əs/US
- /dəˈɹaɪ.əs/UK
- /ˈdæɹi.əs/UK
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
CebuanoEtymology & source
From English Darius, borrowed from Latin Dārīus, from Ancient Greek Δᾱρεῖος (Dāreîos), from Old Persian 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (d-a-r-y-u-š /dārayauš/), shortened form of 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (d-a-r-y-v-u-š /dārayava(h)uš/).
a male given name from English
Wiktionary: Darius (Cebuano) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
Borrowed from Latin Dārīus, from Ancient Greek Δᾱρεῖος (Dāreîos), from Old Persian 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (Dārayauš), shortened form of 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (Dārayavaʰuš); see there for more.
A male given name from Old Persian.
Wiktionary: Darius (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Darius
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Darius Semaña
Filipino guitarist
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
3
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
2
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Darius Semaña, Darius Immanuel D. Guerrero
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Darius in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Darius
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Marius·Roman family name, possibly associated with Mars
- Daria♀Feminine form of Darius
- Dario·Possessing goodness, through Darius
- Daisy♀The daisy flower
- Damgu·Dream
- Damian♂Related to taming or subduing
- Damián♂Spanish form of Damian; related to taming
- Dani♂♀Short form of Daniel or Daniela
What rhymes with Darius?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Explore Darius further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q265867 — Darius (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Darius Semaña (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q265867 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Darius Immanuel D. Guerrero (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q265867 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Darius (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Darius (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Darius (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.
- Rüdiger Schmitt, Encyclopædia Iranica — Darius i. The Name (opens in a new tab)
Specialist analysis of Old Persian Dāraya-vauš as holding firm the good, with dāraya- hold and vau- good, and transmission through Greek and Latin.