UK boy's name
Darius
Of Persian origin, meaning "possessor of wealth" or "wealthy".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Darius is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Darius popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #448, with 90 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2019, with 172 births.
This profile covers 2,267 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 52% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 2,327 living people in the UK are called Darius. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Darius ranked #448 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 90 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2019, when 172 boys were registered as Darius.
- • Darius ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #418 in 2019.
- • About 2,327 living people in the UK are estimated to have Darius as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#448
2024
Births in 2024
90
Latest year
Peak year
2019
172 births
Estimated living
2,327
2026
Meaning
What does Darius mean?
The name Darius has its origins in the ancient Persian language and culture. It is derived from the Old Persian word "Dārayavahuš", which means "he who holds firm the good". This name was popular among the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia, which ruled from around 550 BC to 330 BC.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Darius was Darius the Great, also known as Darius I (550 BC - 486 BC). He was the third Persian king of the Achaemenid Empire and is known for his vast conquests and administrative reforms. Darius I is also mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, where he is referred to as the king who allowed the Jews to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
Another significant figure was Darius II (423 BC - 404 BC), who ruled as the king of the Achaemenid Empire from 423 BC until his death. He is known for his attempts to regain control over the territories that had been lost during the reign of his predecessor, Artaxerxes I.
In the 3rd century BC, Darius III (380 BC - 330 BC) was the last Persian king of the Achaemenid Empire. He was defeated by Alexander the Great in the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, marking the end of the Achaemenid dynasty.
During the Parthian Empire, which ruled in ancient Persia from 247 BC to 224 AD, the name Darius was still in use. One notable figure was Darius the Great (62 BC - 88 AD), who ruled as the king of the Parthian Empire from 77 AD to 88 AD.
In more recent history, Darius I of Persia (1766 - 1835) was the second shah of the Qajar dynasty in Iran. He ruled from 1794 to 1835 and is known for his efforts to modernize and centralize the Persian state.
These are just a few examples of the historical figures who bore the name Darius, which has been a prominent name in the Persian and Iranian cultures for centuries.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Darius over time
The chart below shows babies named Darius registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Darius, the clearest high point is 2019. The latest England and Wales figure is 90 births in 2024, compared with 172 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darius by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Darius was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #370 | 592 | 5 |
| 2010s | #448 | 1,045 | 10 |
| 2000s | #717 | 367 | 10 |
| 1990s | #357 | 263 | 4 |
Geography
Where Darius is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Darius. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Darius ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #418 in 2019.
Across the UK
Darius in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#432 in 2024
17 years of NRS records, 69 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#418 in 2019
2 years of NISRA records, 7 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Darius
-
Darius Johnson
association football player
British association football player (born 2000)
2000-
-
Darius Shu
cinematographer; television director; film director; television producer; film editor; executive producer; film producer; television editor; film screenwriter
British cinematographer (born 1994)
1994-
-
Darius Charles
association football player; association football coach
English association football player and manager
1987-
-
Darius Defoe
basketball player
Professional British Basketball Player
1984-
-
Darius Cox
association football player
Bermudian footballer
1983-
-
Darius Henderson
association football player
British footballer (born 1981)
1981-
-
Darius Campbell Danesh
actor; songwriter; opera singer; autobiographer
Scottish singer (1980–2022)
1980-2022
-
Darius Lantan
association football player
Anguillan footballer
1979-
Related
Names similar to Darius
- Daniel 120,900
- Dylan 60,836
- David 37,852
- Dominic 20,480
- Declan 11,657
- Dexter 11,627
- Danny 8,434
- Dean 5,329
- Dillon 4,113
- Douglas 3,773
- Dominik 3,494
- Damian 3,486
FAQ
Darius: questions and answers
How popular is the name Darius in the UK right now?
In 2024, Darius was ranked #448 for boys in England and Wales, with 90 births registered.
When was Darius most popular?
The peak year on record was 2019, with 172 babies registered as Darius in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Darius?
Of Persian origin, meaning "possessor of wealth" or "wealthy".
How many people are called Darius in the UK?
A total of 2,267 babies have been registered as Darius across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 69 more in Scotland and 7 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Darius most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Darius ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #418 in 2019. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.