Souleymane
A masculine Arabic name meaning "man of peace" or "peaceful".
Name Census estimates that about 423 living Americans carry the first name Souleymane. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Souleymane today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Souleymane births was 2007 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Souleymane. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Souleymane with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
423
~ 1 in 810,294 Americans
Peak year
2007
25 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,531
Tracked since 1995
Census
Souleymane in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 795 people with the first name Souleymane, which placed it at #14,731 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,731
National first-name rank
People counted
795
795 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
96.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Souleymane
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Souleymane is Black at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.5%) and Hispanic (1.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Souleymane described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Souleymane at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.5% · 767
- Two or more races1.5% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 9
- White0.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Popularity
Souleymane: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Souleymane from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 158 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Souleymane remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Souleymane by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Souleymane during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Souleymanes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Souleymane
The name Souleymane is of Arabic origin, derived from the Arabic name Sulaiman, which is a variation of the Hebrew name Solomon. The name Sulaiman is ultimately derived from the root word "Salaam," meaning "peace."
Souleymane is a common name in various West African countries, particularly in Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire, where it has been used for centuries. The name's popularity in these regions can be attributed to the spread of Islam and the influence of Arabic culture.
The name Souleymane has a long and rich history, dating back to ancient times. In the Quran, Sulaiman (the Arabic variant) is mentioned as a prominent prophet and ruler who was blessed with wisdom, wealth, and the ability to communicate with animals and control the winds.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Souleymane was Souleymane Kanté, a renowned Malian writer, and philosopher who lived from 1922 to 1987. He was a significant figure in the literary and intellectual circles of West Africa and made notable contributions to the study of African oral traditions.
Another notable figure was Souleymane Drame, a Senegalese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957 to 1962. He played a crucial role in the country's transition to independence from French colonial rule.
In the realm of sports, Souleymane Camara was a Senegalese footballer who represented his country at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He played as a striker for various clubs, including Montpellier HSC and Al-Nassr FC, between 1997 and 2010.
Souleymane Diawara, born in 1982, is a former professional basketball player from Mali. He played in the NBA for teams such as the Los Angeles Clippers and the Charlotte Bobcats, and was known for his defensive skills and rebounding abilities.
Souleymane Bamba, born in 1984, is a renowned Ivorian filmmaker and director. His films, such as "Bronx Princess" and "Rabah," have won critical acclaim and have been screened at various international film festivals, highlighting the diverse experiences of African communities.
People
Souleymane + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Souleymane as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Souleymane: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Souleymane?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 423 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Souleymane going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 810,294 US residents.
Is Souleymane a common name?
We classify Souleymane as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 427 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Souleymane most popular?
The single biggest year for Souleymane was 2007, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Souleymane is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Souleymane in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 795 people with the name Souleymane, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,731 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Souleymane in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Souleymane?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Souleymane appears almost entirely male. Of the 795 people counted with this name, 99.4% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Souleymane?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Souleymane is Black at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.5%) and Hispanic (1.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Souleymane most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Souleymane in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (767 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Souleymane in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Souleymane a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Souleymane in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Souleymane still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Souleymane in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Souleymane can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Souleymane?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.