# Cynthia (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/cynthia/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsɪn.θi.ə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Cindy, Cyndi, Cindi, Cyndy, Cyndie |
| Variant spellings | Cinthia, Cinthya, Cintia, Cintya, Cynthea, Cyntheia, Cynthya, Sinthia, Sintia, Synthea, Synthia, Syntia |
| US babies named this | 713,412 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,959 / 711,453 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 394, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Latin Cynthia, from Ancient Greek Κυνθία (Kunthía), feminine of Κύνθιος (Kúnthios, “Cynthian (of or pertaining to Mount Cynthus, a mountain of Delos, celebrated as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis)”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 733 | 428 |
| 2012 | 750 | 419 |
| 2013 | 601 | 500 |
| 2014 | 636 | 492 |
| 2015 | 580 | 540 |
| 2016 | 552 | 563 |
| 2017 | 462 | 636 |
| 2018 | 419 | 692 |
| 2019 | 378 | 748 |
| 2020 | 308 | 873 |
| 2021 | 346 | 806 |
| 2022 | 315 | 885 |
| 2023 | 308 | 872 |
| 2024 | 331 | 829 |
| 2025 | 247 | 1,014 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 30 | 2,025 |
| 1988 | 25 | 2,382 |
| 1989 | 41 | 1,834 |
| 1990 | 26 | 2,562 |
| 1991 | 21 | 3,017 |
| 1992 | 22 | 3,026 |
| 1993 | 20 | 3,270 |
| 1994 | 25 | 2,866 |
| 1995 | 12 | 4,854 |
| 1996 | 8 | 6,622 |
| 1997 | 10 | 5,724 |
| 1998 | 7 | 7,718 |
| 1999 | 7 | 8,024 |
| 2002 | 6 | 9,608 |
| 2003 | 5 | 11,224 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 16 | 1,729 |
| 2012 | 23 | 1,387 |
| 2013 | 7 | 3,160 |
| 2014 | 20 | 1,501 |
| 2015 | 19 | 1,601 |
| 2016 | 10 | 2,547 |
| 2017 | 8 | 2,925 |
| 2018 | 14 | 1,977 |
| 2019 | 12 | 2,170 |
| 2020 | 19 | 1,556 |
| 2021 | 10 | 2,499 |
| 2022 | 17 | 1,685 |
| 2023 | 15 | 1,863 |
| 2024 | 14 | 2,000 |
| 2025 | 13 | 2,138 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: سِينْثِيَا
- Bulgarian: Си́нтия
- Chinese: 辛西婭 /辛西娅
- French: Cynthia, Cynthie
- Greek: Κυνθία
- Hungarian: Cintia, Szintia
- Italian: Cinzia
- Japanese: シンシア
- Korean: 신시아
- Latin: Cynthia
- Latvian: Sintija
- Polish: Cyntia
- Portuguese: Cíntia
- Russian: Си́нтия
- Spanish: Cintia
- Ukrainian: Сінтія

## People named Cynthia

- Cynthia Nixon, American actress and politician
- Cynthia Erivo, British actress and singer-songwriter (born 1987)
- Cynthia Lennon, former wife of John Lennon (1939-2015)
- Cynthia Watros, American actress
- Cynthia Rothrock, American actress and martial artist
- Cynthia McKinney, American politician and activist
- Cynthia Lummis, American politician (born 1954)
- Cynthia Ozick, American writer (born 1928)
- Cynthia Rhodes, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1956)
- Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, American basketball player and coach
- Cynthia Addai-Robinson, American actress (born 1980)
- Cynthia Gibb, American actress, model

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.