Darius is the Greek and Latin form of the Old Persian Darayavahush, meaning "possessing goodness" or "holding firm the good". Darius the Great ruled the Persian Empire at its height around 500 BC and appears in the biblical books of Ezra and Daniel. In the United States Darius ranked number 220 in 2000, peaked at number 218 in 2001 and has declined steadily to number 788 in 2025.