Sula
Feminine · “gannet”
Sula is the scientific name of the gannets, and a gannet is one of the more alarming things in nature. It folds its wings and enters the sea from thirty meters up at something like sixty miles an hour, and it has air sacs under the skin of its face and chest to absorb the impact.
How old is the name Sula?
Sula was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Sula alive today was born around 1919, making them about 106 years old. About 300 people named Sula are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sula most popular?
Sula peaked in 1880, reaching #580 nationally. Today it ranks #11932, 11,352 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Where it comes from
From sula to Sula
The story of Sula
The Norse word came into scientific Latin in the eighteenth century when naturalists needed a genus name and reached for the local one, which is how a fair number of seabirds got theirs. The bird is worth the detour. It has no external nostrils, because they would fill on impact; its eyes are set forward for binocular judgment of depth; and the air sacs work like the crumple zone of a car. The name also belongs to a novel: Toni Morrison's second book, published in 1973, is called Sula after its central figure, and it is the reason a good many American readers have met the word at all.
Meaningscholars disagree
gannet
Sula is Old Norse for a gannet and is the genus name for the whole family. As a personal name it may also be a short form of Ursula, from Latin ursa, a bear, or of Slavic and Greek names ending in -sula. None has been shown for the American entries.
How the name formed
- sula
- Sula
Related forms: Sula
Pronouncing Sula
SOO-lah
Two syllables, stress on the first. SUL-uh, with the u of dull, is also recorded in older American families and the spelling supports both.
Nicknames for Sula
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 192134 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #580reached in 1880
- Change vs 2023
- +40.0%7 in 2025, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Sula in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sula in Icelandic — same name
Sulas among us
people named Sula are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 229,610 born in 2025 was named Sula
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Sula sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Sula beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sula in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters and two syllables, with nothing to explain.
- It names a real and spectacular bird, which is easy to tell a child about.
- It is genuinely rare, so a child will almost certainly never meet another.
- Very few people carry it now and almost all of them are old.
- The first vowel is said two ways and the spelling settles neither.
- People will assume it is short for Ursula and will ask.
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What they receive
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Sula
Feminine · #11932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sulas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Sula are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sula in 2025?
- Sula ranks #11932 among US girl names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sula?
- About 1 in every 229,610 US girls born in 2025 was named Sula — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sula with classmates?
- Sula will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sula
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vina#11932 · Retta#11932 · Missouri#11932 · Iola#11932 · Eddie#11932 · Thomas#11932 · Louetta#11932 · Elvina#11932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sula? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sula and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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