Suraiya
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "princess" or "little princess".
Name Census estimates that about 255 living Americans carry the first name Suraiya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Suraiya today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Suraiya births was 2010 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Suraiya. 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 Suraiya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
255
~ 1 in 1,344,135 Americans
Peak year
2010
20 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,587
Tracked since 2004
Census
Suraiya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 616 people with the first name Suraiya, which placed it at #17,727 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
#17,727
National first-name rank
People counted
616
616 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
76.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Suraiya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suraiya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (12.0%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Suraiya 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 Suraiya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander76.3% · 470
- Black or African American12.0% · 74
- Two or more races5.7% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 19
- White2.8% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Suraiya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Suraiya 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 137 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Suraiya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Suraiya 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 Suraiya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Suraiyas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Suraiya
The name Suraiya is of Arabic origin and has been in use since ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic word "Saraiya" which means "celestial" or "heavenly". The name is closely associated with the planet Venus, also known as the "Morning Star" or "Evening Star".
In ancient Arabic culture, the name Suraiya was often given to girls born under the auspicious influence of the planet Venus. It was believed that those bearing this name would possess qualities of beauty, grace, and charm, much like the radiant celestial body itself.
The name Suraiya can be found in various historical texts and literature from the Middle East and Islamic world. It is mentioned in several Arabic poems and writings, where it is often used as a metaphor to describe the beauty and elegance of the beloved.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Suraiya dates back to the 7th century, when it was borne by Suraiya bint al-Hurr, a prominent Arab woman from the Umayyad Caliphate. She was known for her intelligence and wisdom, and played a significant role in the political affairs of her time.
Throughout history, several notable women have carried the name Suraiya. In the 10th century, Suraiya al-Muhdatha was a renowned Arab poet and scholar from Andalusia. Her poetry and literary works were highly acclaimed during her lifetime.
During the Mughal era in India, Suraiya Begum was a powerful and influential figure in the 17th century. She was the wife of Emperor Shah Jahan and played a crucial role in the construction of the iconic Taj Mahal, which was built as a mausoleum for her.
In the 20th century, Suraiya was the stage name of one of the most famous actresses and singers in Indian cinema. Born Suraiya Jamal Sheikh in 1929, she was a leading figure in the golden age of Hindi cinema and is remembered for her timeless beauty and melodious voice.
Another notable woman with the name Suraiya was Suraiya Kamal, an Egyptian writer and feminist activist born in 1924. She was a pioneer in advocating for women's rights and played a significant role in the Egyptian feminist movement.
With its roots in ancient Arabic culture and its association with celestial beauty, the name Suraiya has been carried by remarkable women throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and endeavors.
People
Suraiya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Suraiya 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
Suraiya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Suraiya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 255 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Suraiya 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 1,344,135 US residents.
Is Suraiya a common name?
We classify Suraiya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 257 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Suraiya most popular?
The single biggest year for Suraiya was 2010, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Suraiya is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Suraiya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 616 people with the name Suraiya, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,727 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 Suraiya 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 Suraiya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Suraiya appears almost entirely female. Of the 619 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Suraiya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suraiya is Asian/Pacific Islander at 76.3%. The next largest groups are Black (12.0%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Suraiya most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Suraiya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.3% (470 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 Suraiya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Suraiya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Suraiya 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 Suraiya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Suraiya 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 Suraiya 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 are called Suraiya?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.