How rare is the name Sullivan?

10,147 people in the United States have the first name Sullivan, about 1 in 29,766. It ranks #2,444 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

SULLIVAN

#2,444

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
10,147
About
1 in 29,766
This common or more
79.8%
Who bears it

Of the 10,147 people named Sullivan, 85.6% reported their origin as White, 5% as two or more races and 4.7% as Hispanic or Latino. 90.4% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Sullivan peaked in 2025, when 1,157 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18842025
Peak year
2025
Births that year
1,157
In 2025*
1,157
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 17,077 babies have been given the name since 1884. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Sullivan by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #656. The largest share of babies named Sullivan, 67.9%, were born in 2013 or later.

1880s#2,03030
1890s#2,00063
1900s#4,32210
1910s#3,666122
1920s#4,335141
1930s#4,452110
1940s#4,706114
1950s#5,080129
1960s#7,07785
1970s#9,01386
1980s#11,25083
1990s#3,700619
2000s#1,8182,382
2010s#8787,033
2020s#6566,070
Before 19010.6%
Greatest Generation 1901–271.4%
Silent Generation 1928–451%
Baby boom 1946–641.3%
Generation X 1965–800.8%
Millennials 1981–962.4%
Generation Z 1997–1224.4%
2013 and later67.9%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Sullivan is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Sullivan has been most common in South Carolina (4.1×), Minnesota (3.2×), and Wisconsin (2.4×), and least common in Mississippi (0.18×).

13,764 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Sullivan

#2,441 Hollis · 10,157#2,443 Santa · 10,149#2,445 Shaina · 10,144#2,446 Evelin · 10,132

Also a last name

As a last name, Sullivan ranks #107 of 156,621, with 212,701 people. See Sullivan as a last name

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