Gender Masculine
Scripts 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁(Old Persian)
Pronounced Pron. də-RIE-əs(English) DAR-ee-əs(English)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

Latin form of Greek Δαρεῖος (Dareios), from the Old Persian name 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎢𐏁 (Darayauš), shortened from 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 (Darayavauš). It means "possessing goodness", composed of 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹 (daraya) meaning "to possess, to hold" and 𐎺𐎢 (vau) meaning "good" [1]. Three ancient kings of Persia bore this name, including Darius the Great who expanded the Achaemenid Empire to its greatest extent. His forces invaded Greece but were defeated in the Battle of Marathon.

It has never been very common as a given name in the English-speaking world, though it rose in popularity after the middle of the 20th century. In the United States it is frequently an African-American name. In Lithuania it may be given in honour of the Lithuanian-American aviator Steponas Darius (1896-1933), who died attempting to fly nonstop from New York to Lithuania. His surname was an Americanized form of the original Darašius.

Related Names

VariantsDarijus(Lithuanian) Darayavaush, Dareios(Old Persian)
Other Languages & CulturesDareios(Biblical Greek) Daryawesh(Biblical Hebrew) Darijo, Dario(Croatian) Dario(Italian) Dariush, Daryush(Persian) Dariusz, Darek(Polish) Dariy(Russian) Darío(Spanish) Dariy(Ukrainian)
User SubmissionsDárius, Dàrius

Popularity

People think this name is

classic   mature   formal   upper class   strong   refined   strange   complex   serious  

Name Days

Lithuania: July 17

Images

Relief of Darius in PersepolisRelief of Darius in Persepolis ©

Categories

Sources & References

Entry updated December 7, 2022