Yuri
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The story
The first human to orbit Earth carried a name with farming at its root. Yuri Gagarin made that flight in 1961, then returned by ejecting from his capsule and descending by parachute. In the Slavic naming tradition, Yuri is a form of George, whose Greek elements mean earth and work, giving the sense of farmer or earthworker. The contrast is a small pleasure of the name's history: an earthworker circling the planet. But those Latin letters can carry another history entirely. A separate Japanese feminine name, Yuri, can mean lily when written with the characters 百合; other characters can give it other senses. The astronaut makes one Yuri vividly recognizable. The flower reminds us that a familiar spelling can open onto more than one language, and more than one independent root.
How popular is Yuri around the world?
In the United States, 1,382 babies were named Yuri between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 142,231 people in Brazil were named Yuri, the 237th most common name, with a median age of 13.
Yuri is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, France, South Australia, Montevideo, Canada, Austria, Mexico City, Spain, Argentina, England and Wales and Chile.
United States
1 in 16,000
In the United States, 1,382 babies were named Yuri between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Yuri peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 1,400
At the 2022 census, 142,231 people in Brazil were named Yuri, the 237th most common name, with a median age of 13.
Among people named Yuri living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 19,159 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
France
1 in 13,000
In France, about 50 boys named Yuri were born in 2025, the 804th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Yuri in 2017.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Montevideo City
1 in 25,0002011
In Montevideo, 1 boy named Yuri was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Canada
1 in 28,000
In Canada, 13 boys named Yuri were born in 2024, ranked 1,614th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Austria
1 in 38,000
In Austria, 2 boys named Yuri were born in 2025, ranked 1,241st among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Mexico City City
1 in 39,000
In Mexico City, there were 3 registrations of Yuri in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 40,000
In Spain, 974 residents are named Yuri, ranked 1,395th among men, with a mean age of 29.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
1 in 60,000
In Argentina, 11 newborns were given the name Yuri in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
England and Wales
1 in 84,000
In England and Wales, 7 boys named Yuri were born in 2025, ranked 2,952nd among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Chile
1 in 180,000
In Chile, 1 boy was registered as Yuri in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Ireland
last on record 2010
Yuri is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Poland
last on record 2022
Yuri is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, New Zealand and Scotland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Yuri
Most people given the name Yuri in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Yuri · Russian baby names · Names of explorers and adventurers · Short names
The Yuri deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Yuri truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Yuri fits with your family’s names and surname.
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