Find out how popular the last name Sule is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sule.
A surname of unknown origin, potentially derived from a location or personal name.
Sule, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sule surname is from the 2010 census data.
Sule is the 38640th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Sule surname appeared 572 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Sule.
We can also compare 2010 data for Sule to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 38640 | 55003 | -34.95% |
| Count | 572 | 350 | 48.16% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.19 | 0.13 | 37.50% |
The surname SULE is believed to have originated from the old Irish Gaelic word "súil" which means "eye" or "vision". It is thought to have first emerged as a descriptive nickname in the 12th century in the Connacht region of western Ireland.
Over time, the name evolved into various spellings such as Suile, Suilleabhain, Suilevan, and eventually Sule. These variations can be found in early Irish census records and land deeds from the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest known references to the name is in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. It mentions a man named Mathghamhain Suilleabhain who was a notable chieftain of the Suilleabhain clan in County Cork in the late 15th century.
In the 17th century, the name Sule appears in the Petty's Census of Ireland from 1659, which was a survey of landowners and their holdings. This suggests the name had become more widespread by that time.
Notable individuals with the surname Sule include Domhnall Suilleabhain (born c.1670), who was a renowned Irish harpist and composer. Another was Donnchadh Suilleabhain (c.1735-1800), a respected Irish scholar and poet.
In more recent history, Father John Sule (1874-1949) was a prominent Catholic priest and educator who founded several schools in Ireland. Michael Sule (1890-1971) was an Irish politician who served as a member of parliament for many years.
Additionally, the name can be traced to several place names in Ireland, such as Baile Suilleabháin (Ballinsullivan) in County Cork, which likely took its name from the Suilleabhain clan that inhabited the area.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sule.
The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sule was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 34.27% | 196 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | 38.64% | 221 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 19.23% | 110 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0 |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 0.87% | 5 |
| Hispanic Origin | 6.99% | 40 |
Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.
Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sule has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 34.27% | 54.86% | -46.20% |
| Black | 38.64% | 26.29% | 38.04% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 19.23% | 8.29% | 79.51% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Two or More Races | 0.87% | 1.71% | -65.12% |
| Hispanic | 6.99% | 8.86% | -23.60% |
The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.
The history and meaning of the name Sule was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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