Sullivan
Feminine · “dark-eyed”
Sullivan is given to both — 1,442 girls and 15,635 boys since 1880. See Sullivan as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Sullivan is the Irish Ó Súilleabháin — descendant of the dark-eyed one, or the one-eyed one, depending on the reading.
How old is the name Sullivan?
Sullivan first appears in US birth records in 1993 — 32 years ago. The typical Sullivan is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,400 people named Sullivan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sullivan most popular?
Sullivan peaked in 2024, reaching #1942 nationally. Today it ranks #2410, 468 places below that high. See the whole 2024 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From súil to Sullivan
The story of Sullivan
Ó Súilleabháin was among the great families of Munster, and the name is one of the commonest in Ireland. The disputed second element makes the bearer either dark-eyed or one-eyed, which is a considerable difference. Sullivan entered American given-name use for both sexes and is in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
dark-eyed; or one-eyed
From the Irish Ó Súilleabháin, built on súil, 'eye', with a second element read variously as dubh, 'dark', or amhan, 'one'. Both readings are current and neither is settled. The eye element is documented.
How the name formed
- súil
- Ó Súilleabháin
- Sullivan
Related forms: Ó Súilleabháin · Sullavan
Pronouncing Sullivan
SUL-ih-vun
Three syllables, stress on the first. Irish Ó Súilleabháin is oh-SOOL-uh-vawn.
Nicknames for Sullivan
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
- 1993
- Most girls named
- 2024102 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1942reached in 2024
- Change vs 2024
- −27.5%74 in 2025, from 102
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.
Sullivan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Súilleabháin in Irish — related form
- Sullavan in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas.
Sullivans among us
people named Sullivan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 21,720 born in 2025 was named Sullivan
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Despina test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Sullivan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Despina climbed just as high around 1931, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Despina's path sketches the road Sullivan is walking now.
Sullivan 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
Where Sullivan is headed
Sullivan should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Sullivan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sullivan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the name means either dark-eyed or one-eyed and nobody can say which is a first-rate fact.
- Sully and Van are two short forms, both with real records.
- Three syllables with a front stress, which holds up against a short surname.
- It reads unmistakably as a surname.
- It reads as masculine to most English speakers.
- The second element is genuinely disputed.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Sullivan
Feminine · #2410 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sullivans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Sullivan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sullivan in 2025?
- Sullivan ranks #2410 among US girl names in 2025, with 74 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sullivan?
- About 1 in every 21,720 US girls born in 2025 was named Sullivan — 74 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sullivan with classmates?
- Sullivan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sullivan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ayda#2410 · Layken#2410 · Leana#2410 · Sanvi#2410 · Terra#2410 · Laina#2410 · Natalya#2410 · Danae#2410
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sullivan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sullivan and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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