Sugar
A sweet term of endearment for someone beloved or cherished.
Name Census estimates that about 161 living Americans carry the first name Sugar. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 74.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Sugar today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sugar births was 1971 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sugar. 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.
People living today
161
~ 1 in 2,128,909 Americans
Peak year
1971
11 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
1981 SSA rank
#3,822
Tracked since 1951
Census
Sugar in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 464 people with the first name Sugar, which placed it at #21,757 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
#21,757
National first-name rank
People counted
464
464 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
38.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sugar
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sugar is White at 38.6%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and Hispanic (11.9%). 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 Sugar 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 Sugar at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White38.6% · 179
- Black or African American32.5% · 151
- Hispanic or Latino11.9% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.6% · 40
- Two or more races5.4% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 14
Gender
Gender distribution for Sugar
Sugar is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 181 total registrations, 46 (25.4%) were male and 135 (74.6%) were female.
Sugar as a male name
- Ranked #3,822 in 1981
- 11 male births in 1981
- Peak: 1981 (11 births)
Sugar as a female name
- Ranked #18,554 in 2016
- 5 female births in 2016
- Peak: 1971 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sugar on both sides of the split. Of the 463 people counted with this name, 113 were male (24.4%) and 350 were female (75.6%).
Popularity
Sugar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sugar from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 72 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sugar 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 Sugar during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sugar
The given name Sugar is a relatively modern invention, originating in the English language in the 20th century. It is derived from the common noun "sugar," which refers to the sweet crystalline carbohydrate obtained from various plants, particularly sugarcane and sugar beets. The word "sugar" itself has its roots in the Sanskrit शर्करा (śarkarā), which was borrowed into Arabic as sukkar and eventually made its way into English via French and Italian.
The name Sugar was likely chosen for its connotations of sweetness, charm, and affection. It reflects a trend in English-speaking cultures of bestowing unconventional and playful names on children, often drawing inspiration from everyday objects or concepts. While it may seem unusual to some, the name Sugar has gained a modest following, particularly in the United States.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sugar can be found in the case of Sugar Ray Robinson, the legendary American professional boxer. He was born Walker Smith Jr. in 1921 but acquired the nickname "Sugar" for his sweet boxing style and charming personality. The name stuck, and he became widely known as Sugar Ray Robinson throughout his illustrious career, which spanned from the 1940s to the 1960s.
Another notable figure named Sugar was Sugar Pie DeSanto, an American blues and R&B singer who was active in the 1960s and beyond. Born Umpeylia Marsema Balinton in 1940, she adopted the stage name Sugar Pie as a tribute to her sweet vocal style and charismatic stage presence.
In the realm of literature, Sugar appeared as the name of a character in the novel "Sugar" by American writer Bernice L. McFadden, published in 2000. The book tells the story of a woman named Sugar, who was given the name as a symbol of her mother's hopes for a sweet life, despite the harsh realities they faced.
Another notable figure with the name Sugar was Sugar Ramos, a Cuban professional boxer who was active in the 1960s and 1970s. Born Ultiminio Ramos in 1939, he earned the nickname "Sugar" for his swift and stylish boxing techniques.
Finally, Sugar Shane Mosley, an American professional boxer, was born Shane Mosley in 1971. He acquired the nickname "Sugar" for his smooth and sweet boxing style, and it became an integral part of his ring identity throughout his successful career.
While not a traditional name by any means, Sugar has found its place in popular culture, often associated with qualities of sweetness, charm, and affection. Its unusual nature has made it a memorable and distinctive choice for parents seeking a unique and playful name for their child.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Sugar
People
Sugar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sugar 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
Sugar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sugar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 161 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sugar 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 2,128,909 US residents.
Is Sugar a common name?
We classify Sugar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 181 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sugar most popular?
The single biggest year for Sugar was 1971, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sugar is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sugar in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 464 people with the name Sugar, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,757 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 Sugar 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 Sugar?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sugar on both sides of the split. Of the 463 people counted with this name, 113 were male (24.4%) and 350 were female (75.6%). 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 Sugar?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sugar is White at 38.6%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and Hispanic (11.9%). 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 Sugar most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sugar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.6% (179 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 Sugar in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sugar a female name?
Yes, 74.6% of people registered as Sugar in the SSA data are female. 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 Sugar still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sugar 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 Sugar 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 have Sugar as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.