Cersei Name Meaning & Historical Trends

Cersei

Pronunciation: SUR-say

Gender Girl
GIRLS RANK
#13,542
TREND
240

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of girls named Cersei in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Cersei

  • 49 babies named Cersei: U.S. records list 49 babies given the name Cersei from 1880 through 2025.

What Does the Name Cersei Mean?

Cersei is a form of the classical name Circe, the Latin spelling of Greek Κίρκη (Kirkē). The meaning of the Greek name is not settled, and no single derivation is generally accepted. A traditional explanation links it to Greek kirkos, a word that can mean "hawk" and also "ring" or "circle" (the source of Latin circus), but it is not certain that the name actually comes from that word. Some scholars treat Κίρκη as a pre-Greek name from an older Aegean language whose meaning cannot now be recovered. The spelling Cersei, with its -ei ending, is an English rendering rather than a Greek or Latin form.

Cersei Name History & Origins

In Greek tradition Circe was an enchantress or goddess who lived on the island of Aiaia. Homer's Odyssey tells how she turned Odysseus's companions into pigs and kept Odysseus with her for a year. Hesiod's Theogony makes her a daughter of the sun god Helios and the Oceanid Perse, and the mother of Odysseus's sons Agrius and Latinus. The name passed into Latin literature, appearing most fully in Ovid's Metamorphoses, where Circe changes Scylla and transforms Odysseus's men, and in Virgil's Aeneid, which places her grove on the coast of Latium.

Medieval and Renaissance readers met Circe through Ovid and through moralized retellings that read her transformations as images of seduction and worldly temptation. The spelling Cersei represents the same name in English letters, with the classical -e replaced by -ei. The best-known modern bearer is the character Cersei Lannister in George R. R. Martin's fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, published from 1996, and in its television adaptation Game of Thrones.

How Popular is the Name Cersei?

Cersei has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2017. Its best rank was #9,446 in 2017.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

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How the Name Cersei Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You are cheerful and friendly, but are apt to have an emotional life. You like to have several lines of effort going at once. You are a good talker and promoter and seldom worry over anything. At times, you can be impatient, and impulsive. You have the ability to bring an idea to completion. You can express yourself joyously and constructively. You might be psychic, but not know it. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.

You are seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.

✦ Cersei's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Cersei's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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