Cyrus

Etymology

Cyrus, as a word in English, is the Latinized form of the Greek Κῦρος, Kȳros, from Old Persian 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 Kūruš. According to the inscriptions, the name is reflected in Elamite Kuraš, Babylonian Ku(r)-raš/-ra-áš and Imperial Aramaic kwrš. The modern Persian form of the name is Kūroš.

The etymology of Cyrus has been and continues to be a topic of discussion amongst historians, linguists, and scholars of Iranology. The Old Persian name "kuruš" has been interpreted in various forms such as "the Sun", "like Sun", "young", "hero," and "humiliator of the enemy in verbal contest" and the Elamite "kuraš" has been translated as one "who bestows care".

The name has appeared on many monuments and inscriptions in Old Persian. There is also the record of a small inscription in Morghab (southwestern Iran) on which there is the sentence (adam kūruš xšāyaθiya haxāmanišiya) in Old Persian meaning (I am Cyrus the Achaemenian King). After a questionable proposal by the German linguist F. H. Weissbach that Darius the Great was the first to inscribe in Persian, it had previously been concluded by some scholars that the inscription in Morghab refers to Cyrus the Younger. This proposal resulted from a false interpretation of a passage in paragraph 70 of the Behistun inscription by Darius the Great. Based on many arguments, the accepted theory among modern scholars is that the inscription does belong to Cyrus the Great.

There are interpretations of the name of Cyrus by classical authors identifying with or referring to the Persian word for "Sun". The Historian Plutarch (46–120) states that "the sun, which, in the Persian language, is called Cyrus". Also, the Physician Ctesias who served in the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes II of Persia writes in his book Persica as summarized by Photios that the name Cyrus is from the Persian word "Khur" (the sun). These are, however, not accepted by modern scholars.

Regarding the etymology of Old Persian kuruš, linguists have proposed various etymologies based on Iranian languages as well as non-Indo-European ones. According to Tavernier, the name kuraš, attested in Elamite texts, is likely "the original form" as there is no Elamite or Babylonian spelling ku-ru-uš in the transcriptions of Old Persian ku-u-r(u)-u-š. That is, according to Tavernier, kuraš is an Elamite name and means "to bestow care". Others, such as Schmitt, Hoffmann maintain that the Persian Kuruš, which according to Skalmowsky, may be connected to (or borrowing from) the IE Kúru- from Old Indic can give an etymology of the Elamite kuraš. In this regard, the Old Persian kuruš is considered with the following etymologies: One proposal is discussed by the linguist Janos Harmatta that refers to the common Iranian root "kur-" (be born) of many words in Old, middle, and new Iranian languages (e.g. Kurdish). Accordingly, the name Kūruš means "young, youth...". Other Iranian etymologies have been proposed. The Indian proposal of Skalmowsky goes down to "to do, accomplish". Another theory is the suggestion of Karl Hoffmann that kuruš goes down to a -ru derivation from the IE root *(s)kau meaning "to humiliate" and accordingly "kuruš" (hence "Cyrus") means "humiliator (of the enemy in verbal contest)".

People

Given name

Ordered chronologically

Cyrus I (c. 650 BC), King of Anshan

Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), also known as Cyrus II, the grandson of Cyrus I, Achaemenid ruler and founder of the Persian Empire

Cyrus the Younger (died 401 BC), brother of the Persian King Artaxerxes

Cyrus (architect) (died 52 BC), Greek architect who worked in Rome

Saint Cyrus (see Cyrus and John) (died c. 304 or 311), Coptic saint

Cyrus I of Edessa, bishop (died 396)

Cyrus of Panopolis ((fl. 426–441), Byzantine official, epic poet and philosopher

Cyrus II of Edessa, bishop (died 498)

Cyrus of Alexandria (died 642), Melkite Patriarch and co-founder of Monothelism

Cyrus Allen (born 2003), American football player

Cyrus Leroy Baldridge (1889–1977), American artist, illustrator, author and adventurer

Cyrus Townsend Brady (1861–1920), American journalist, historian and adventure writer

Cyrus Baguio (born 1980), Filipino basketball player

Cyrus Broacha (born 1971), MTV India VJ

Cyrus S. Ching (1876–1967), Canadian-American industrialist, civil servant and union mediator

Fictional characters

Cyrus, from The Revenge of Magic book series by James Riely

Cyrus Beene, from the television series Scandal

Cyrus Trask, from John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden

Cyrus Spitama, the grandson of Zoroaster and main character of Gore Vidal's novel Creation.

Cyrus Borg, a character in Ninjago

Cyrus Bortel, from the animated TV series Kim Possible

Cyrus Goodman, from Andi Mack and Disney Channel's first gay main character

Cyrus Lupo, a detective from Law & Order

Cyrus Simpson, the brother of Abraham Simpson in The Simpsons

Cyrus, from the TV series Trailer Park Boys

Cyrus, from the animated series Sonic Underground

Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, in the 1997 film Con Air, played by John Malkovich

Cyrus, a gang leader in the 1979 film The Warriors

Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic and the main antagonist of Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum

Cyrus Gold, the DC Comics character Solomon Grundy

Cyrus Smith, the leading character in Jules Verne's novel Mysterious Island