Given name & surname · also Old English
Byron
“one who lives near the cow sheds”
Byron is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “one who lives near the cow sheds.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “one who lives near the cow sheds.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old English.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Byron through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 82,541
- 82,238 boys · 303 girls
- Most popular year
- 1964
- 1,289 babies
- 2025
- 233
- #981 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −20%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 233 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 981 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 19.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,284 in 1964. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (23). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 57,834 as a first name in 2020; 6,199 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Byron’s family of names
In Cebuano usage, Byron has a diminutive in RONRON. In English usage, Byron has a later derivative in VYRON. Byron has a related form in Byran.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Byron has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Old English roots to each of them.
3 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 15
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Byron
- Gig YoungAmerican actor (1913–1978)
- Byron HowardAmerican film director and animatorborn 1968
- Byron MannChinese-American actorborn 1967
- Byron DorganAmerican author, businessman, and politician (born 1942)
- Byron ScottAmerican basketball player and coachborn 1961
- Byron MorenoEcuadorian football refereeborn 1969
- Byron NelsonAmerican golfer (1912–2006)
- Byron K. LichtenbergAmerican astronaut and engineerborn 1948
- Byron HaskinAmerican film and television director (1899-1984)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Byron, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Lyndon
“from the hill of lime trees” · “from the lime tree”
84% boys · 16% girls
Daron
“the great one” · “from a small rocky hill”
>99% boys
Darren
“a great man” · “a gift from God”
>99% boys
Nelson
“the son of Neil; the son of a champion”
99% boys · 1% girls
Marlon
“resembling a little hawk”
>99% boys
Kelvin
“a friend of ships; a man of the river”
>99% boys
Ron
“song of Joy”
>99% boys
Rodney
“from the famous one's island” · “from the island's clearing”
>99% boys