| Kyrie | Phoenix | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Lord | Firebird reborn from flame |
| Origin | greek | greek |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Pronunciation | ky-REE / KEER-ee | FEE-niks |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1986 | 1968 |
| Peak year | 2017 (1,780) | 2020 (1,534) |
| In 2025 | 1,416 | 1,027 |
| Trend | Rising | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Kyrie | Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 9,420 | 7,843 |
| 2010s | 8,793 | 10,623 |
| 2000s | 219 | 5,086 |
| 1990s | 162 | 972 |
| 1980s | 18 | 32 |
| 1970s | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0 | 5 |
From Greek 'kyrie', the vocative of 'kyrios' ('lord, master'), best known from the Christian liturgical prayer 'Kyrie eleison' ('Lord, have mercy'). Its modern popularity owes much to basketball player Kyrie Irving.
From Greek 'phoinix', the mythical bird that is consumed by fire and reborn from its own ashes. The fire link is through the rebirth-by-fire myth rather than a literal word for fire.
Kyrie is more popular than Phoenix today: about 1,416 US babies were given the name Kyrie in 2025, compared with 1,027 named Phoenix.
Kyrie means Lord (greek origin), while Phoenix means Firebird reborn from flame (greek origin).
In US records, Kyrie first appears in 1986 and Phoenix in 1968, so Phoenix has the longer recorded history.