Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

. It is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

name (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek (''

kýrios ''Kyrios'' or ''kurios'' () is a Greek word that is usually translated as "lord" or "master". It is used in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) about 7000 times, in particular translating the name YHWH (the ...

'') '

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

'. There are various variant forms of the name ''Cyril'' such as ''Cyrill'', ''Cyrille'', ''Ciril'', '' Kirill'', ''Kiryl'', ''Kirillos'', '' Kyrylo'', ''Kiril'', ''Kiro'', ''Kyril'', ''Kyrill'' and ''Quirrel''. It may also refer to:

Christian patriarchs or bishops

Cyril of Jerusalem Cyril of Jerusalem (, ''Kýrillos A Ierosolýmon''; ; 386) was a theologian of the Early Church. About the end of AD 350, he succeeded Maximus as Bishop of Jerusalem, but was exiled on more than one occasion due to the enmity of Acacius of ...

(386), theologian and bishop *

Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Alexandria (; or ⲡⲓ̀ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲕⲓⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲥ; 376–444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire ...

(444), Patriarch of Alexandria *

Cyril the Philosopher Cyril (; born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (; born Michael, 815–885) were brothers, Population of the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Christian theologians and Christian missionaries, missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs ...

(826–869), co-invented the Slavic alphabet (Glagolitic) and translated the Bible into Old Church Slavonic; namesake of the Cyrillic alphabet *

Pope Cyril II of Alexandria Pope Cyril II of Alexandria is the List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria, 67th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. There had been a leadership dispute upon the selection of Cyril II as patriarch of Alexandria. A counci ...

, reigned 1078–1092 * Greek

Patriarch Cyril II of Alexandria Cyril II served as Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Alexandria in the 12th century (exact dates are unknown). References * 12th-century patriarchs of Alexandria 12th-century Christian saints Melkites in the Fatimid Caliphate {{Eas ...

, reigned in the 12th century *

Cyril of Turaw Cyril of Turov, alternately Kirill of Turov (, , ; 1130–1182) was a bishop and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was one of the first and finest theologians of Kievan Rus'; he lived in Principality of Turov, now southern Belarus. His f ...

(1130–1182), Belarusian bishop and orthodox saint *

Pope Cyril III of Alexandria Cyril III, known as Cyril ibn Laqlaq (), was the 75th Coptic Orthodox Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria. His episcopate lasted seven years, eight months, and 23 days from Sunday, 17 June 1235 (23 Paoni 951 A.M.) to Tuesday, 10 March 1243 (14 Ba ...

, reigned 1235–1243 *

Cyril I of Serbia Kirilo I or Saint Kirilo of Serbia, was the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1407 to 1419. Kirilo became head of the Serbian National Church after the death of Patriarch Danilo IV at a time when Medieval Serbia was still recovering ...

, reigned 1407–1419 *

Cyril, Metropolitan of Moscow Cyril IV (; died 8 February 1572) was Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus', the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, from 1568 to 1572. He was the fourteenth metropolitan in Moscow to be appointed without the approval of the Ecumenical Patriar ...

(died 1572), Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus' from 1568 to 1572 *

Cyril Lucaris Cyril I of Constantinople (''Cyril Lucaris'' or ''Kyrillos Loukaris'' (; 13 November 1572 – 27 June 1638) was a Greek prelate and theologian, and a native of Heraklion, Crete (then under the Republic of Venice). He later became the Greek Pa ...

(Patriarch Cyril I of Constantinople), reigned for six terms between 1612 and 1638 *

Cyril II of Constantinople Cyril II of Constantinople (; died June 1640) was three-time Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (1633, 1635–1636, 1638–1639). He was from Veroia, coming to Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) w ...

, patriarch in 1633, 1635–1636, 1638–1639 *

Patriarch Cyril III of Constantinople Cyril III of Constantinople (; died after 1655), was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for eight days in June 1652 and again for fourteen days in March 1654. He hailed from Xanthi and had previously served as metropolitan bishop of Cor ...

, patriarch in 1652 and 1654 *

Cyril IV of Constantinople Cyril IV of Constantinople (; died 1728) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from December 1711 until his resignation in November 1713. He was also metropolitan bishop of Cyzicus. He was elected patriarch in 1709 but took office only ...

, patriarch 1711–1713 *

Cyril V Zaim Patriarch Constantine Cyril V Zaim (about 1655–1720), sometimes known also as Cyril III, was Patriarch of Antioch. Life Constantine Zaim was born in about 1655 in Aleppo and he was the nephew of Patriarch Macarios III Zaim, who died in 1672. I ...

, Melkite patriarch of Antioch died 1720 *

Cyril VI Tanas Patriarch Cyril VI Tanas, also known as Cyril VI of Antioch (1680, Damascus – January 10, 1760), became the first Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Alexandria and Jerusalem of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church following the schism o ...

, Melkite patriarch of Antioch 1724–1760 * Patriarch Cyril V of Constantinople, patriarch in 1748–1751, 1752–1757 * Cyril II of Serbia, reigned 1759–1763 * Cyril VII Siaj, Melkite patriarch of Antioch 1794–1796 * Patriarch Cyril VI of Constantinople, patriarch in 1813–1818 * Cyril, Metropolitan of Belgrade, Metropolitan of Belgrade during 1825–1827 *

Patriarch Cyril II of Jerusalem Cyril II of Jerusalem (original name Konstantinos Kritikos, ; 1792 – August 18, 1877) was a 19th-century Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. Cyril was born in 1792 in the island of Samos. In 1816 he was ordained a deacon, then a presbyter, ...

, reigned 1845–1875 * Patriarch Cyril VII of Constantinople, patriarch in 1855–1860 * Pope Cyril IV of Alexandria, reigned 1854–1861 * Pope Cyril V of Alexandria, reigned 1874–1921 *

Cyril VIII Jaha Cyril VIII Geha (or ''Jeha''), (November 26, 1840 – January 11, 1916) was patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1902 until 1916. He was the last Melkite Catholic patriarch of the Ottoman era. Life Geha was born in Aleppo, S ...

, Melkite patriarch of Antioch 1902–1916 * Cyril IX Moghabghab, Melkite patriarch of Antioch 1925–1946 * Patriarch

Cyril of Bulgaria Patriarch Cyril (; secular name Konstantin Markov Konstantinov []; January 3, 1901 – March 7, 1971) was the first Patriarch of the restored Patriarch of All Bulgaria, Bulgarian Patriarchate. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, to a family of Aromanians, ...

, reigned 1953–1971 *

Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria also called Abba Kyrillos VI, ; (2 August 1902 – 9 March 1971; 26 Epip 1618 – 30 Meshir 1687) was the 116th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark from 10 May 1959 (2 Pashons 1675) to ...

, reigned 1959–1971 * Patriarch Cyril I of Moscow, reigning from 2009

Other individuals

* Cyrillus, 5th-century Greek jurist * Cyril Abiteboul (born 1977), French motor racing engineer and manager, formerly the managing director of Renault Sport F1 Team * Cyril Almeida, Pakistani journalist * Cyril Eugene Attygalle, Sri Lankan Sinhala politician * Cyril Benson, founder of British company Bensons for Beds * Cyril Bourlon de Rouvre (born 1945), French businessman and politician * Sir

Cyril Burt Sir Cyril Lodowic Burt, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (3 March 1883 – 10 October 1971) was an English educational psychology, educational psychologist and geneticist who also made contributions to statistics. He is known for his studies o ...

(1883–1971), psychologist *

Cyril Connolly Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine ''Horizon (British magazine), Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote ''Enemies of Pro ...

(1903–1974), English literary critic and writer *

Cyril Delevanti Harry Cyril Delevanti (23 February 1887 – 13 December 1975) was an English character actor with a long career in American films. He was sometimes credited as Syril Delevanti. Early years Delevanti was born in London to Anglo-Italian music ...

(1889–1975), British actor *

Cyril Despres Cyril Despres (born 24 January 1974) is a French rally racer and resident of Andorra. He won the Dakar Rally five times, in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013, riding a KTM motorcycle. He also won the Red Bull Romaniacs, an enduro event, three tim ...

(born 1974), French motorcycle rider * Cyril De Zoysa (1896–1978), Sri Lankan businessman and Buddhist revivalist * Cyril Dissanayaka, Sri Lankan Sinhala senior police officer * Cyril Dodd (1844–1913), British politician * Cyril Domoraud (born 1971), Ivorian football player *

Cyril Dunne Cyril Dunne (1941 – 5 December 2024) was an Irish hurler, Gaelic football player and manager. At club level he played with St Grellan's and Milltown, while he was also a member of the Galway senior teams as a dual player. Playing career ...

(1941–2024), Irish Gaelic footballer * Cyril Fernando (1895–1974), Sri Lankan Sinhala clinician and researcher * Cyril Fletcher (1913–2005), English comedian, actor and businessman *

Ciryl Gane Ciryl Romain Jacky Gane (born April 12, 1990) is a French professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interi ...

(born 1990), French mixed martial artist, former interim UFC heavyweight champion *

Cyril Gautier Cyril Gautier (born 26 September 1987) is a French road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2007 to 2022. He was named in the start list for the 2015 Vuelta a España. In August 2015, L'Équipe reported Gautier had signed for for ...

(born 1987), French racing cyclist * Cyril Goulden (1897–1981), Welsh/Canadian geneticist, statistician, and agronomist * Cyril Grayson (born 1993), American football player * Cyril Haran (1931–2014), Gaelic footballer and manager, priest, scholar and schoolteacher * Cyril Stanley Harrison (1915–1998), English cricketer * Cyril Leo Heraclius, Prince Toumanoff (born Toumanishvili) (1913–1997), Russian-born historian and genealogist who was a professor emeritus at Georgetown University *

Cyril Herath Deshamanya L. D. Cyril Herath was a Sri Lankan Inspector-General of Police and Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence. Education He was educated at St. John's College, Nugegoda and at the Royal College, Colombo and graduated from the ...

(died 2011), Inspector-General of Sri Lanka Police from 1985 to 1988 * Cyril Höschl (1949–2025), Czech psychiatrist and academic * Cyril Jordan (born 1948), American guitarist and founder of the

Flamin' Groovies Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''Flamingo'' and '' Teenage He ...

Cyril Keeper Cyril Keeper (born July 17, 1943) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1988, serving as a member of the New Democratic Party. Life Keeper was born in Berens River, Manitoba. He i ...

(born 1943), Canadian politician *

Cyril Knowles Cyril Barry Knowles (13 July 1944 – 30 August 1991) was a footballer who played left-back for Tottenham Hotspur and England. He was the son of the rugby league footballer Cyril Knowles, and the older brother of fellow professional football ...

(1944–1991), English footballer * C. M. Kornbluth (1923–1958), American science fiction author *

Cyril Lawrence Cyril Lawrence (12 June 1920 – 14 April 2020) was an English professional footballer who played as a winger. He played in the English football league for Blackpool, Rochdale and Wrexham. During World War II, Lawrence enlisted in the Royal ...

(1920–2020), English footballer * Cyril Lewis (1909–1999), Welsh footballer * Sister M. Cyril Mooney (1936–2023), educational innovator in India * Cyril Nicholas (1898–1961), Sri Lankan Burgher army captain, civil servant, and forester *

Cyril Ornadel Cyril Ornadel (2 December 192422 June 2011) was a British conductor, songwriter and composer, chiefly in musical theatre. He worked regularly with David Croft, the television writer, director and producer, as well as Norman Newell and Hal S ...

(1924–2011), British conductor and composer * Elder Cyril Pavlov (1919–2017), Russian Orthodox Christian monk, mystic and wonder-worker *

Cyril Pearl Cyril Alston Pearl (11 April 1904 – 3 March 1987) was an Australian journalist, author, and television personality. Life and career Pearl was born in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria Fitzroy is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, ...

(1904–1987), Australian journalist *

Cyril Perkins George Cyril Perkins (4 June 1911 – 21 November 2013) was an English cricketer. Perkins was a right-handed batsman who bowled both slow left-arm orthodox and left-arm medium pace. He was born in Wollaston, Northamptonshire. On 4 June 2011 he ...

(1911–2013), English cricketer * Cyril C. Perera (1923–2016), Sri Lankan Sinhala author, translator of world literature into Sinhala * Cyril E. S. Perera (1892–1968), Sri Lankan Sinhala member of the Ceylon House of Representatives * Cyril Pinto Jayatilake Seneviratne (1918–1984), Sri Lankan Sinhala military officer and politician * Cyril Ponnamperuma (1923–1994), Sri Lankan Sinhala scientist in the fields of chemical evolution and the origin of life *

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

(born 1952), South African president, businessman, and trade unionist *

Cyril Ranatunga General S. Cyril Ranatunga, VSV (19 February 1930 – 16 June 2021) was a Sri Lanka Army officer. He served as Secretary of Defence, General Officer Commanding, Joint Operations Command and Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army during the 198 ...

, Sri Lankan Sinhala army general * Cyril Richardson (born 1990), American football player * Cyril Riley, known mononymously as

Cyril Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek language, Greek name (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various variant forms of t ...

, an Australian musician, best known for his version of "Stumblin' In" * Cyril Rioli (born 1989), Australian rules footballer *

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a British Liberal Party and Liberal Democrat politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale from 1972 to 1992. Smith was first active in local politics as ...

(1928–2010), English Liberal politician *

Cyril Stapleton Horace Cyril Stapleton (31 December 1914 – 25 February 1974) was an English violinist and jazz bandleader. Biography Horace Cyril Stapleton was born in Mapperley, Nottingham, England, He began playing violin at the age of seven, and played ...

(1914–1974), English musician and bandleader * Cyril Symes (born 1943), Canadian politician *

Cyril Takayama Cyril Takayama (born September 27, 1974) is an American magician of French, Moroccan and Japanese descent who is perhaps best known for his magic performances around Japan. Early life Cyril Takayama was born and raised in Hollywood, Californi ...

(born 1973), American-Japanese magician * Cyril Wickramage (born 1932), Sri Lankan Sinhala actor, director, and vocalist

Fictional characters

* Cyril "Blakey" Blake, the bus depot inspector from the 1970s British comedy TV series ''On the Buses'' * Cyril Fielding, character in E. M. Forster's novel ''A Passage to India'' * Cyril Figgis, character in the TV series ''Archer'' * Cyril Gray, character from the film ''

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang ''Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang'' (released in the United States and Canada as ''Nanny McPhee Returns'') is a 2010 historical drama, period fantasy comedy film directed by Susanna White, produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Lindsay Doran with ...

'', played by Eros Vlahos * Cyril Kinnear, the menacing and urbane mastermind from the 1971 British crime film ''

Get Carter ''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British gangster film, gangster thriller film, written and directed by Mike Hodges in his directorial debut and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland and Bryan Mosley. Based on Ted Lewis (write ...

'' * Cyril Orchard, the murder victim in the 1948 Nero Wolfe mystery '' And Be a Villain'' * Cyril Playfair, the reverend from the 1952 film ''

The Quiet Man ''The Quiet Man'' is a 1952 American romantic comedy drama film directed and produced by John Ford, and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen, Barry Fitzgerald, Arthur Shields and Ward Bond. The screenplay by Frank S. Nugent ...

'' * Cyril Proudbottom, Mr. Toad's horse from the 1949 film ''

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad ''The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' is a 1949 American animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It consists of two segments: the first based on Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's novel ...

'' * Cyril O'Reily, character from television series ''Oz'' *

Cyril Sneer ''The Raccoons'' is a Canadian animated television series that ran on CBC from November 11, 1985, to March 19, 1991, in Canada and on Disney Channel from July 4, 1985, to August 28, 1992, in the U.S., with three preceding television specials f ...

, the villain aardvark of the 1980s cartoon series ''The Raccoons'' * Cyril Woodcock, from the film ''

Phantom Thread ''Phantom Thread'' is a 2017 American romantic period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, and Lesley Manville, and follows an haute couture dressmaker in 1950s London who takes a y ...

'', played by Lesley Manville * Cyril the Fogman, a character from the television series ''Thomas & Friends'' * Cyril, a character from ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' * Cyril, a character from '' Fire Emblem: Three Houses'' * Cyril the Ice Dragon, from ''

The Legend of Spyro ''The Legend of Spyro'' is a game trilogy that is part of the ''Spyro'' series. It acts as a reboot to the original series. The games use a combination of close-combat and platforming gameplay, though more oriented on combat than previous games i ...

'' * Cyril the Squirrel, from ''

Maisy ''Maisy'' is a British preschool animated children's television series based on the book series of the same name by Lucy Cousins. The series aired from 11 February 1999 to 2 November 2000 on CITV and consisted of 26 episodes, with each episode ...

'' *Cyril, the main character in ''

The Heart's Invisible Furies ''The Heart's Invisible Furies'' is a social novel by Irish novelist John Boyne and published by Doubleday in 2017. The story revolves around the life of Cyril, who struggles with his sexuality, but it takes on a broad range of prejudice and ...

'' by

John Boyne John Boyne (born 30 April 1971) is an Irish author, novelist, and writer. He is the author of sixteen novels for adults, six novels for younger readers, two novellas, and one collection of short stories. Boyne's historical novel '' The Boy in ...

*Cyril, a giant squirrel

kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...

from Rampage: Total Destruction *Cyril Bassington-Bassington, from " Jeeves and the Chump Cyril"

Christian patriarchs or bishops

Other individuals

Fictional characters

See also