Suriya
A masculine name of Tamil origin meaning "the sun god".
Name Census estimates that about 247 living Americans carry the first name Suriya. It is a predominantly female name (96.0% of registrations). The average person named Suriya today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Suriya births was 2008 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Suriya. 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
247
~ 1 in 1,387,669 Americans
Peak year
2008
28 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2012 SSA rank
#13,272
Tracked since 1994
Gender
Gender distribution for Suriya
Suriya leans heavily female at 96.0% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Suriya as a male name
- Ranked #13,952 in 2012
- 5 male births in 2012
- Peak: 2007 (5 births)
Suriya as a female name
- Ranked #13,272 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (28 births)
Popularity
Suriya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Suriya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 115 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Suriya 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 Suriya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Suriyas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Suriya
The name Suriya originates from the Sanskrit language, which was spoken in ancient India and is the root language of many modern Indian languages. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Surya," which means "sun" or "sun god." The name is closely associated with the Hindu deity Surya, who is revered as the sun god and is considered one of the most important deities in Hinduism.
The earliest known mention of the name Suriya can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, such as the Vedas and Puranas. In these texts, Suriya is often used as an epithet for the sun god Surya, who is described as the source of light, warmth, and life-giving energy.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Suriya was Suriya Siddhanta, an Indian astronomer and mathematician who lived in the 4th or 5th century CE. He is best known for his work on astronomy and for writing the Suriya Siddhanta, an influential treatise on Indian astronomy and mathematics.
Another notable historical figure with the name Suriya was Suriya Prakash, a 16th-century Indian poet and scholar from the Mughal Empire. He was renowned for his poetry and his contributions to the field of literature.
In the 18th century, Suriya Narain Rai was a prominent Indian ruler and founder of the Rai dynasty, which ruled over parts of present-day Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India.
During the 19th century, Suriya Kant Tripathi, also known as Nirala, was a celebrated Hindi poet and writer. He is considered one of the most influential figures in modern Hindi literature and is known for his innovative and experimental writing style.
In more recent times, Suriya is the name of a popular Indian actor and film producer, who has starred in numerous Tamil-language films and has won several awards for his acting abilities.
While the name Suriya has its roots in ancient Hindu culture and mythology, it has transcended its religious and cultural boundaries and is now used across various communities and regions, particularly in India and other parts of South Asia.
People
Suriya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Suriya 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
Suriya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Suriya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 247 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Suriya 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 1,387,669 US residents.
Is Suriya a common name?
We classify Suriya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 250 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Suriya most popular?
The single biggest year for Suriya was 2008, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Suriya is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Suriya a female name?
Yes, 96.0% of people registered as Suriya 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.