Yuri: meaning “resembling a lily”, origin & popularity

Meaning & origin

What it means

One Japanese interpretation is “resembling a lily.”

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is Japanese.

How it developed

Yuri is a form of George. The shared background comes through George: Georgios comes from georgos, built from elements meaning “earth” and “to work.” Latin Georgius and Old French forms helped carry it into English.

Explained through its name family

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1919. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Yuri is a form of George. The history of George gives this family its wider story. Saint George gave the name a religious and legendary association; the dragon story developed in the Middle Ages. In England, George I’s accession in 1714 helped increase the name’s use beyond its earlier saintly associations.

Combines direct and name-family evidence

Yuri through the years

Babies since 1880: 6,224; 2,455 boys · 3,769 girls
Most popular year: 2022; 273 babies
2025: 227; #1,533 for girls · #1,825 for boys
2021–25 vs 2016–20: +34%; Rising

Boys Girls

Yuri in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1919–2025, per million births of each sex. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Boys, girls and both

The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 40% boys.

Boys Girls

Five-year rolling share of U.S. births. Blank stretches had too few births to read.

Where it’s given

Most at home inGeorgia, Florida, California

FewerMore, relative to births Not published

2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: Georgia (23), Florida (22), California (24).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 139 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,533 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 47.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 88 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (16). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 10,734 as a first name in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Yuri’s family of names

Yuri shares a linguistic root with George. Yuri has a related form in Yuriy. Yuri is a form of George.

Walk Yuri’s family in the name graph

Around the world

Yuri has relatives in 11 languages. Lines run from its Japanese roots to each of them.

Japanesewhere Yuri comes from · 7 names

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Dots on the border stand for languages further away. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 15

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

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Spellings & scripts 7

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Across languages 58

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

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People named Yuri

Characters named Yuri: Yuri Sakazaki (Art of Fighting and The King of Fighters).

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Yuri, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Japanese · Shared

Sibling ideas

Names that share Yuri’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Yuri

A sister for Yuri

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