Sunni
Following traditional Islamic orthodoxy, especially the authority of the successors of Muhammad.
Name Census estimates that about 2,396 living Americans carry the first name Sunni. It is a predominantly female name (97.5% of registrations). The average person named Sunni today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sunni births was 2024 (134 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sunni. 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
- • Although Sunni is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 62 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
2.4K
~ 1 in 143,053 Americans
Peak year
2024
134 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,668
Tracked since 1949
Gender
Gender distribution for Sunni
Sunni leans heavily female at 97.5% of total registrations, but 62 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sunni as a male name
- Ranked #7,654 in 2024
- 11 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (12 births)
Sunni as a female name
- Ranked #1,668 in 2024
- 123 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (123 births)
Popularity
Sunni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sunni from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 524 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sunni 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 Sunni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sunnis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Sunni, while Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sunni
The name Sunni traces its origins to the Arabic word "Sunnah," which refers to the traditions and practices of the Prophet Muhammad. It is derived from the root word "sanna," meaning "to establish a precedent or a way of life." The name Sunni is closely associated with Sunni Islam, one of the two major branches of Islam, alongside Shia Islam.
The earliest recorded use of the name Sunni can be found in the historical accounts of the early Islamic period, particularly in the context of the division between the Sunni and Shia communities after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 CE. The Sunnis followed the teachings and traditions of the Prophet as recorded in the Sunnah, while the Shias believed in the spiritual and political leadership of Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law.
One of the earliest and most famous individuals with the name Sunni was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (573-634 CE), who was the first caliph of the Sunni Islamic caliphate after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. He is revered by Sunnis as one of the most influential figures in early Islamic history and is known for his close companionship with the Prophet.
Another notable figure in Sunni Islam was Al-Ghazali (1058-1111 CE), a renowned Islamic philosopher, theologian, and mystic. His magnum opus, "The Revival of the Religious Sciences," is considered a seminal work in Sunni Islamic thought and has had a profound impact on the development of Islamic jurisprudence and spirituality.
In the modern era, one of the most well-known individuals with the name Sunni was Sunni Ali Ber (1943-2015), a renowned artist and painter from Pakistan. She was celebrated for her vibrant and colorful depictions of traditional Pakistani life and culture, and her works were exhibited internationally.
Another notable figure was Sunni Khalid (1932-2012), a Pakistani journalist and human rights activist. He was a vocal advocate for press freedom and played a crucial role in exposing human rights violations during the military dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s.
Sunni Wilson (born 1978) is a contemporary American musician and singer-songwriter. She is known for her soulful and genre-blending music, which incorporates elements of R&B, pop, and jazz. Her album "Ray of Light" received critical acclaim and earned her a dedicated following.
People
Sunni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sunni 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
Sunni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sunni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,396 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sunni 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 143,053 US residents.
Is Sunni a common name?
We classify Sunni as "Rare". It ranks above 94.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,528 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sunni most popular?
The single biggest year for Sunni was 2024, when 134 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sunni is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sunni a female name?
Yes, 97.5% of people registered as Sunni 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.
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.