Souren
A masculine name of Armenian origin meaning "king's son" or "son of an emperor".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Souren. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Souren today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Souren births was 2008 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Souren. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Souren. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2008
5 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2008 SSA rank
#14,320
Tracked since 2008
Census
Souren in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 195 people with the first name Souren, which placed it at #38,993 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
#38,993
National first-name rank
People counted
195
195 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Souren
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Souren is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Souren 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 Souren at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.2% · 168
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.2% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 6
- Two or more races1.5% · 3
- Black or African American0.5% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Souren: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Souren 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 Souren during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Souren
The name Souren has its origins in the Armenian language and culture, with roots dating back to ancient times. The name is derived from the Armenian word "sur," which means "to move" or "to wander." This suggests that the name may have been associated with a nomadic or traveling lifestyle in its earliest usages.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Souren can be found in Armenian manuscripts from the 5th century AD. These manuscripts contain accounts of individuals bearing the name, indicating its usage during the medieval period in Armenia.
In the 9th century, the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi mentioned a prince named Souren in his historical work, "The History of Armenia." This prince was a prominent figure in the region, lending further credence to the antiquity of the name.
Throughout Armenian history, several notable figures have borne the name Souren. One such individual was Souren Zulalian (1923-1992), a celebrated Armenian artist known for his vibrant paintings and intricate tapestries. His works are celebrated for their cultural significance and artistic merit.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Souren Spandaryan (1904-1984), an Armenian composer and conductor. He made significant contributions to the development of Armenian classical music and is remembered for his orchestral works and operas.
In the realm of literature, Souren Partevian (1924-2010) was a renowned Armenian writer and poet. His works explored themes of identity, cultural heritage, and the Armenian diaspora experience, leaving a lasting impact on the literary landscape.
Souren Melik-Ohanjanyan (1905-1989) was a distinguished Armenian mathematician and physicist. He made significant contributions to the fields of theoretical physics and mathematical analysis, earning international recognition for his groundbreaking research.
While the name Souren has its roots in Armenian culture, it has also been adopted and used in various other contexts and regions over time, reflecting the widespread influence and migration of Armenian communities throughout history.
People
Souren + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Souren 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
Souren: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Souren?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Souren 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Souren a common name?
We classify Souren as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Souren most popular?
The single biggest year for Souren was 2008, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Souren is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Souren in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 195 people with the name Souren, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,993 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 Souren 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 Souren?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Souren appears almost entirely male. Of the 199 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Souren?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Souren is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Souren most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Souren in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.2% (168 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 Souren in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Souren a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Souren 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 Souren still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Souren 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 Souren 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 are named Souren?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.