Suhan
A masculine name of Indian origin meaning "good son" or "son of the sun".
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the first name Suhan. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Suhan today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Suhan births was 2022 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Suhan. 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 Suhan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
136
~ 1 in 2,520,252 Americans
Peak year
2022
17 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,618
Tracked since 2007
Census
Suhan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 202 people with the first name Suhan, which placed it at #38,178 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
#38,178
National first-name rank
People counted
202
202 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
86.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Suhan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suhan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Black (4.5%). 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 Suhan 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 Suhan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander86.6% · 175
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 10
- Black or African American4.5% · 9
- White2.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
- Two or more races0.5% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Suhan
Suhan leans heavily male at 89.1% of total registrations, but 15 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Suhan as a male name
- Ranked #9,618 in 2023
- 8 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2009 (10 births)
Suhan as a female name
- Ranked #12,048 in 2023
- 8 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Suhan on both sides of the split. Of the 211 people counted with this name, 152 were male (72.0%) and 59 were female (28.0%).
Popularity
Suhan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Suhan from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 68 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Suhan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Suhan 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 Suhan 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 Suhan
The name Suhan originates from the Sanskrit language, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE. It is believed to have roots in the northern Indian subcontinent, particularly in regions where Sanskrit was widely spoken and used for religious and scholarly purposes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Suhan can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads. In these texts, the name is often associated with concepts of beauty, purity, and divinity.
In the epic Sanskrit poem, the Mahabharata, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE, there is a character named Suhan, who is described as a wise and learned sage. This reference suggests that the name has been in use for over two millennia.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Suhan. One of the earliest recorded examples is Suhan Nath, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 12th century CE. His works significantly influenced the literary traditions of northern India during that period.
Another prominent figure was Suhan Bhatt, a celebrated 16th-century Kashmiri poet and mystic. His poetry, which was written in the Kashmiri language, explored themes of spirituality, love, and the human condition.
In the 18th century, Suhan Singh was a revered Sikh warrior and military commander who played a crucial role in defending the Sikh empire against foreign invaders. His bravery and leadership skills have been widely celebrated in Sikh folklore and historical accounts.
Moving into the modern era, Suhan Kapoor was a renowned Indian classical dancer and choreographer who lived from 1908 to 1997. She was celebrated for her contributions to the revival and promotion of the Kathak dance form.
Another notable figure is Suhan Gulati, a contemporary Indian writer and poet who was born in 1977. Her works, which often explore themes of identity, feminism, and social issues, have garnered critical acclaim and numerous literary awards.
People
Suhan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Suhan 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
Suhan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Suhan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 136 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Suhan 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 2,520,252 US residents.
Is Suhan a common name?
We classify Suhan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 137 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Suhan most popular?
The single biggest year for Suhan was 2022, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Suhan is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Suhan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 202 people with the name Suhan, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,178 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 Suhan 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 Suhan?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Suhan on both sides of the split. Of the 211 people counted with this name, 152 were male (72.0%) and 59 were female (28.0%). 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 Suhan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suhan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Black (4.5%). 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 Suhan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Suhan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (175 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 Suhan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Suhan a male name?
Yes, 89.1% of people registered as Suhan 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 Suhan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Suhan 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 Suhan 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 Suhan as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Suhan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.