Darius

Darius (Persian: Dariush) is a boy's name (pronounced da-RYE-us, DARE-ee-us, DA-ree-us). Etymologically it is an Iranian word with Greek transliteration and its meaning is "he possesses; rich, kingly".

Historical

Darius the Great assumed the kingship of Babylon after its conquest by Cyrus in fifth century BC. He was a renowned king also known as Darius I of Persia. Three kings of the ancient Achaemenid Empire of Persia were named Darius:

• Darius I of Persia or Darius the Great.
• Darius II of Persia
• Darius III of Persia

as well as several other kings:

• Darius of Media Atropatene, an Arsacid satrap
• Darius of Pontus, of Pontus
• Darius the Mede
• Dario Venuto of Ekeren

Modern

Darius can also refer to:

• Adam Darius, an American mime artist, choreographer and writer
• Donovin Darius, an NFL player
• Steponas Darius, a Lithuanian pilot
• Darius Boyd, an Australian rugby league footballer
• Darius N. Couch, an American soldier
• Darius Campbell, a Scottish singer-songwriter, previously known as Darius Danesh
• Darius' Umbilical Chords, a guitar player's/teacher's educational resource
• Darius Dimavičius, a Lithuanian basketball player
• Darius Grala, a Polish sports car racing driver
• Darius Kasparaitis, an ice hockey player
• Darius Khondji, a French-Iranian cinematographer
• Darius Maciulevičius, a Lithuanian football midfielder
• Darius McCrary, American actor
• Darius Mehrjui, an Iranian film director
• Dariusz Michalczewski, a Polish boxer
• Darius Miles, an NBA player
• Darius Milhaud, a French composer
• Darius Mockus, a Lithuanian entrepreneur
• Darius Reynaud, an American football player
• Darius Rucker (Hootie), an American musician
• Darius Songaila, a professional basketball player
• Darrius Littlepage, an American author

Fictional characters

• Darius (Highlander), an Immortal from Highlander: The Series
• Dariusu, from Fullmetal Alchemist
• Darrius, from Mortal Kombat

Media

• Darius, the first in the Darius video game series

• Darius 2, the second arcade game in the series; the Sega Genesis port was known as Segaia outside of Japan.
• Darius Burst, the latest installment of the Darius series released on the PlayStation Portable
• Darius Plus, the first port of the arcade game released for the PC Engine and later the Super CD System as Super Darius
• Darius R, a partial port of the original game to the Gameboy Advance
• Darius Gaiden
• G Darius

Dario

Dario is the counterpart of Darius in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Croatian and other Slavic languages:

• Rubén Darío, a Nicaraguan poet
• Ciudad Darío, a Nicaraguan municipality named after Rubén Darío
• Dario Argento, an Italian film director
• Dario Badinelli, an Italian triple jumper
• Dario Bellezza, an Italian poet
• Dario Dainelli, an Italian footballer currently captain of Fiorentina
• Dario Fo, an Italian Nobel prize winner
• Dario Franchitti, a Scottish Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion
• Dario García, an Argentine judoka
• Dario Hübner, an Italian footballer
• Dario Lari, an Italian rower
• Darío Lecman, an Argentine weightlifter
• Dario Marianelli, an Italian film composer
• Darío Moreno, a Turkish-born Sephardic Jew singer and composer
• Darío Silva, a former Uruguayan footballer
• Dario Šimić, a Croatian footballer
• Darijo Srna, a Croatian footballer
• Dario Resta, an Italian |Indianapolis 500 winner
• Dario, a villain in the James Bond film Licence to Kill'

See also

• Dariush
• Dario (brand), a trademark for electrical products