Suma
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "beautiful flower".
Name Census estimates that about 50 living Americans carry the first name Suma. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Suma today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Suma births was 1977 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Suma. 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 Suma with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Suma. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
50
~ 1 in 6,855,087 Americans
Peak year
1977
7 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2002 SSA rank
#15,174
Tracked since 1977
Census
Suma in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,090 people with the first name Suma, which placed it at #11,669 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
#11,669
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,090 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
87.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Suma
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suma is Asian/Pacific Islander at 87.2%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Suma 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 Suma at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander87.2% · 951
- White5.7% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 40
- Black or African American2.5% · 27
- Two or more races0.7% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Suma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Suma from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 19 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Suma remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Suma 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 Suma 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 Suma
The name Suma has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language of South Asia. It is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word "sumana," which means "beautiful flower." The name Suma was widely used in ancient India and can be traced back to the Vedic period, which dates back to around 1500-500 BCE.
In Hindu mythology, Suma is mentioned as the name of a beautiful celestial nymph or Apsara. She is described as a dancer in the court of Lord Indra, the king of the gods in Hindu mythology. The name Suma is also associated with the goddess Lakshmi, who is the goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperity in Hinduism.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Suma was Suma Bauri, a famous Bengali poet and writer who lived in the 16th century. She was renowned for her devotional poems and songs, which were widely popular in Bengal during that time.
Another notable figure in history with the name Suma was Suma Chakrabarti, an Indian civil servant who served as the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations from 2008 to 2016. She was born in 1951 and played a crucial role in promoting democracy, human rights, and sustainable development in the Commonwealth countries.
In the field of literature, Suma Josson was a Swedish author and journalist who was born in 1935. She was known for her novels and short stories, which often explored themes of identity, relationships, and the struggles of modern life.
Suma Nair, born in 1969, is an Indian-American author and journalist who has written several books on topics related to gender, culture, and identity. Her works include "The Better Man" and "The Culturalist."
Suma Subramaniam, born in 1971, is a Malaysian actress and television host who has appeared in numerous films and television shows both in Malaysia and internationally. She is widely recognized for her work in the entertainment industry and has won several awards for her performances.
While the name Suma has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu culture, it has been adopted and used in various other cultures and languages over time. The name's association with beauty, grace, and prosperity has made it a popular choice for parents across different regions and backgrounds.
People
Suma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Suma 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
Suma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Suma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 50 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Suma 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 6,855,087 US residents.
Is Suma a common name?
We classify Suma as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 53 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Suma most popular?
The single biggest year for Suma was 1977, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Suma is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Suma in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,090 people with the name Suma, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,669 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 Suma 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 Suma?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Suma leans strongly female. 1,080 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 15 male bearers (1.4%). 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 Suma?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suma is Asian/Pacific Islander at 87.2%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Suma most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Suma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (951 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 Suma in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Suma a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Suma 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 Suma still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Suma 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 Suma 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 the name Suma?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.