How rare is the name Sunshine?

5,157 people in the United States have the first name Sunshine, about 1 in 58,567. It ranks #3,828 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 1 other.

first name

SUNSHINE

#3,828

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
5,157
About
1 in 58,567
This common or more
83.1%
Who bears it

Of the 5,157 people named Sunshine, 56.5% reported their origin as White, 13.4% as Hispanic or Latino and 12.9% as Asian or Pacific Islander. 97.2% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Sunshine peaked in 1975, when 324 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19052025
Peak year
1975
Births that year
324
In 2025*
57 ▼82%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 5,779 babies have been given the name since 1905. 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.

Sunshine by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1970s, when it ranked #1,330. The largest share of babies named Sunshine, 38.1%, were born between 1965 and 1980, Generation X's birth years.

1900s#3,95714
1910s#4,74478
1920s#4,789120
1930s#8,83120
1950s#8,97737
1960s#11,94422
1970s#1,3301,943
1980s#2,0481,115
1990s#3,994552
2000s#3,783835
2010s#4,858619
2020s#4,447424
Greatest Generation 1901–273.4%
Silent Generation 1928–450.6%
Baby boom 1946–640.7%
Generation X 1965–8038.1%
Millennials 1981–9620.7%
Generation Z 1997–1221.9%
2013 and later14.5%

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 Sunshine is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Sunshine has been most common in California (3.5×), Arizona (2.3×), and Florida (1.8×), and least common in Pennsylvania (0.27×).

2,830 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.

Exactly as common as Sunshine

1 other first name also has 5,157 people.

#3,828 Nohemi · 5,157

Either side of Sunshine

#3,827 Qing · 5,158#3,828 Nohemi · 5,157#3,830 Delma · 5,156#3,831 Stephani · 5,154

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Sunshine, most common first.

#47,857 Sunshyne · 135

Also a last name

As a last name, Sunshine ranks #25,227 of 156,621, with 1,028 people. See Sunshine as a last name

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