Suriyah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "my splendor" or "my radiance".
Name Census estimates that about 211 living Americans carry the first name Suriyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Suriyah today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Suriyah births was 2010 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Suriyah. 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 Suriyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
211
~ 1 in 1,624,428 Americans
Peak year
2010
21 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,273
Tracked since 2005
Popularity
Suriyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Suriyah 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 103 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Suriyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Suriyah 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 Suriyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Suriyahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Suriyah
The name Suriyah has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic word "suria," which means "from Syria" or "Syrian." The name carries a connection to the historical region of Syria, which has been a significant center of civilization for millennia.
In ancient times, Syria was known as Aram or Aram-Naharaim, and it played a crucial role in the development of early civilizations in the Fertile Crescent region. The name Suriyah likely emerged as a way to identify individuals or groups associated with this influential region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Suriyah can be found in the ancient Aramaic texts, which were written in the Aramaic language and used throughout the Middle East during the first millennium BCE. These texts often referred to individuals or groups from the Syrian region as "Suriye" or "Suriyaye."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Suriyah. One of the most famous was Suriyah al-Muqri, a renowned Qur'anic reciter and scholar who lived in the 8th century CE. He was known for his exceptional mastery of the Arabic language and his contributions to the study and preservation of the Qur'an.
Another prominent figure was Suriyah al-Andalusi, a 12th-century poet and philosopher from Andalusia (modern-day Spain). He was celebrated for his eloquent poetry and his philosophical works, which explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
In the 14th century, Suriyah al-Dimashqi was a renowned scholar and historian from Damascus, Syria. He authored several influential works on the history and geography of the region, including his famous treatise, "The Topography of Damascus."
During the Ottoman Empire, Suriyah Pasha was a notable military leader and statesman who served as the governor of several provinces in the 16th century. He was known for his strategic prowess and his contributions to the administration of the empire.
In more recent times, Suriyah Ghulam Ali was a celebrated Pakistani singer and musician who was born in 1910 and passed away in 1994. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest classical vocalists of the 20th century and was awarded numerous honors for his contributions to music.
People
Suriyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Suriyah 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
Suriyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Suriyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 211 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Suriyah 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 1,624,428 US residents.
Is Suriyah a common name?
We classify Suriyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 213 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Suriyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Suriyah was 2010, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Suriyah is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Suriyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Suriyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Suriyah 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 Suriyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Suriyah 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 Suriyah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Suriyah as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Suriyah, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.