Suraj
A masculine Hindu name of Sanskrit origin meaning "sun" or "sun-like".
Name Census estimates that about 1,064 living Americans carry the first name Suraj. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Suraj today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Suraj births was 2003 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Suraj. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Suraj with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 322,138 Americans
Peak year
2003
54 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,736
Tracked since 1975
Census
Suraj in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,626 people with the first name Suraj, which placed it at #6,171 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,171
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,626 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
89.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Suraj
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suraj is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Black (3.5%) and White (2.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Suraj described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Suraj at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander89.7% · 2,355
- Black or African American3.5% · 93
- White2.9% · 77
- Two or more races2.2% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 13
Popularity
Suraj: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Suraj from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 378 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Suraj by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Suraj during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Surajs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, New York, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Suraj, while Texas, Illinois, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Suraj
The name Suraj is derived from the Sanskrit word 'sūrya,' which means 'sun.' It has its roots in the ancient Hindu culture and tradition, dating back thousands of years. The name is associated with the solar deity or the sun god, who was revered in Hinduism as a powerful and life-sustaining force.
One of the earliest references to the name Suraj can be found in the Vedas, the sacred Hindu scriptures composed between 1500 and 500 BCE. In the Rig Veda, one of the four Vedas, there are hymns dedicated to the sun god, praising his brilliance, warmth, and life-giving properties.
The name Suraj gained popularity across the Indian subcontinent, transcending religious boundaries and becoming a widely used name among Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims. It was also adopted in various regional languages, with slight variations in spelling and pronunciation, such as Surya in Sanskrit, Suraj in Hindi and Punjabi, and Soraj in Bengali.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Suraj. One of the earliest recorded examples is Suraj Mal (1707-1763), a Jat ruler who founded the state of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, India. Another prominent individual was Suraj Parkash (1913-1994), an Indian freedom fighter and politician who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement.
In the realm of literature, Suraj Veer Singh (1920-2004) was a renowned Hindi poet and writer from Uttar Pradesh, India. He was honored with the prestigious Padma Bhushan award by the Indian government in 1976.
In the field of sports, Suraj Randiv (born 1985) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played as a right-arm off-break bowler for the Sri Lankan national team. He represented Sri Lanka in various international cricket tournaments, including the ICC World Cup.
Another notable figure with the name Suraj is Suraj Sharma (born 1993), an Indian actor who made his debut in the critically acclaimed film "Life of Pi" (2012), directed by Ang Lee. His performance in the lead role earned him praise and recognition from the international film community.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Suraj throughout history, representing various walks of life, from rulers and freedom fighters to writers, sportspersons, and actors.
People
Suraj + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Suraj as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Suraj: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Suraj?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,064 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Suraj going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 322,138 US residents.
Is Suraj a common name?
We classify Suraj as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,085 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Suraj most popular?
The single biggest year for Suraj was 2003, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Suraj is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Suraj in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,626 people with the name Suraj, or 0.87 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,171 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Suraj in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Suraj?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Suraj leans strongly male. 2,571 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 50 female bearers (1.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Suraj?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suraj is Asian/Pacific Islander at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Black (3.5%) and White (2.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Suraj most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Suraj in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (2,355 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Suraj in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Suraj a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Suraj in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Suraj still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Suraj in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Suraj can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Suraj?
You can see how many Americans are named Suraj on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.