Cyril

Cyril comes from Greek Kyrillos, related to kyrios, meaning “lord.” The customary interpretation is “lordly.” Several early Christian saints carried the name, helping it spread across languages and giving it a particularly strong religious history in Eastern Europe as well as later English use.

The ninth-century missionary Cyril is associated with the creation of the Glagolitic alphabet for Slavic-language religious texts. The later Cyrillic alphabet was named in his honor; it should not be confused with the script he is credited with creating. Literary associations include characters in Princess Ida and D. H. Lawrence’s The White Peacock, while Oscar Wilde gave the name to a son. Cy offers a short English form, and Kirill and Cyrille are language relatives.