Suhail
A masculine Arabic name meaning "constellation of stars".
Name Census estimates that about 391 living Americans carry the first name Suhail. It is a predominantly male name (93.7% of registrations). The average person named Suhail today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Suhail births was 2024 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Suhail. 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
391
~ 1 in 876,610 Americans
Peak year
2024
22 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,671
Tracked since 1975
Gender
Gender distribution for Suhail
Suhail leans heavily male at 93.7% of total registrations, but 25 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Suhail as a male name
- Ranked #4,671 in 2024
- 22 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (22 births)
Suhail as a female name
- Ranked #8,960 in 1980
- 7 female births in 1980
- Peak: 1979 (7 births)
Popularity
Suhail: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Suhail from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 118 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Suhail remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Suhail 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 Suhail during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Suhails live
Origin
Meaning and history of Suhail
The name Suhail is of Arabic origin and has been in use since ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic word "saheel," which means "easy" or "smooth." The name is also associated with the star Canopus, one of the brightest stars in the night sky, known as "Sohail" in Arabic.
In Islamic tradition, Suhail is mentioned in the Quran as the name of a star that guided the travelers in the desert. The name gained popularity among Muslims as a result of this association with celestial navigation and the divine guidance provided by the stars.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Suhail can be found in the works of the renowned Arab poet and scholar, Al-Mutanabbi (915-965 CE). He wrote a famous poem praising the qualities of a person named Suhail, describing him as noble, brave, and generous.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Suhail. One of the most famous was Suhail ibn Abi Salih (718-786 CE), a revered Islamic scholar and jurist from Kufa, Iraq. He was known for his expertise in hadith (the sayings and traditions of Prophet Muhammad) and his contributions to the development of Islamic jurisprudence.
Another prominent figure was Suhail ibn Nafi (670-720 CE), a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and a skilled warrior who played a crucial role in the early Muslim conquests. He was known for his bravery and military exploits during the Islamic expansion in the 7th century.
In the realm of science, Suhail ibn Bahram al-Zanjani (fl. 10th century CE) was an influential Persian astronomer and mathematician. He made significant contributions to the development of astronomical instruments and the study of celestial mechanics.
During the Mamluk era in Egypt, Suhail al-Shaykhuni (d. 1349 CE) was a prominent historian and biographer. His works provide valuable insights into the political and cultural landscape of the Mamluk sultanate in the 13th and 14th centuries.
In more recent times, Suhail Daulatzai (1919-2012) was a renowned Pakistani journalist, author, and poet. He was a prominent figure in the literary circles of Pakistan and known for his contributions to Urdu literature and journalism.
People
Suhail + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Suhail 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
Suhail: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Suhail?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 391 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Suhail 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 876,610 US residents.
Is Suhail a common name?
We classify Suhail as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 399 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Suhail most popular?
The single biggest year for Suhail was 2024, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Suhail is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Suhail a male name?
Yes, 93.7% of people registered as Suhail 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.
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.