Surya
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "the sun".
Name Census estimates that about 1,479 living Americans carry the first name Surya. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 78.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Surya today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Surya births was 2009 (83 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Surya. 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
- • Surya is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 231,747 Americans
Peak year
2009
83 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,696
Tracked since 1977
Gender
Gender distribution for Surya
Surya is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,496 total registrations, 1,168 (78.1%) were male and 328 (21.9%) were female.
Surya as a male name
- Ranked #2,696 in 2024
- 49 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (68 births)
Surya as a female name
- Ranked #8,340 in 2024
- 13 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (21 births)
Popularity
Surya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Surya from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 539 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Surya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Surya 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 Surya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Suryas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Surya, while Washington, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Surya
The name Surya has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that emerged in the Indian subcontinent around the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "surya," which means "sun" or "the sun god." The name is closely associated with Hinduism, where Surya is revered as the sun deity and a major vedic god.
In Hindu mythology, Surya is depicted as a resplendent figure riding a chariot drawn by seven horses, representing the seven days of the week. He is described as the source of light, warmth, and life, and is celebrated in various Hindu scriptures, including the Vedas, Upanishads, and Puranas. The Surya Siddhanta, an ancient Indian treatise on astronomy and mathematics, is named after this deity.
One of the earliest known references to the name Surya can be found in the Rigveda, a collection of sacred Hindu hymns composed around 1500-1000 BCE. The Rigveda contains several hymns dedicated to Surya, praising his radiance and power.
Throughout history, the name Surya has been borne by several notable figures. One of the earliest was Surya Siddhanta, an Indian astronomer and mathematician who lived in the 4th or 5th century CE and is credited with authoring the eponymous treatise on astronomy. In the 7th century CE, the Indian philosopher and logician Surya Narayana Diksita made significant contributions to the development of Hindu philosophy.
During the medieval period, Surya Mal, a ruler of the Gohad state in central India (born around 1530 CE), was known for his military prowess and architectural contributions. In the 18th century, Surya Sen (1894-1934) was a prominent Indian revolutionary who fought against British colonial rule.
More recently, Surya Bonaly (born 1973) is a French figure skater and three-time world silver medalist, renowned for her athletic prowess and pioneering backflip on ice.
While the name Surya has been predominantly used in Hindu communities, its association with the sun and its radiant qualities have made it a popular choice across various cultures and regions.
People
Surya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Surya 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
Surya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Surya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,479 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Surya 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 231,747 US residents.
Is Surya a common name?
We classify Surya as "Rare". It ranks above 92.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,496 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Surya most popular?
The single biggest year for Surya was 2009, when 83 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Surya is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Surya a male name?
Yes, 78.1% of people registered as Surya in the SSA data are male. 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.