Darius is an English-rendered masculine given name of Persian origin, derived from the original name Dariush (Persian: داریوش).

The name's origins trace back to Old Persian: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavauš, which is composed of 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹 (Dāraya-, lit.

'to hold') and 𐎺𐎢 (va(h)u-, lit.

'good'), meaning "holding firm the good"[1] from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (lit.

'to hold') and analogous to: Shorter forms include: