Girl · #1,583 in 2026

Sunni

Name: Popularity of the name Sunni in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Sunni, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Muslim community, being appointed at the meeting of Saqifa.

Current Rank

#1,583

Peak Rank

#1,482 (2026)

Total Babies

5-Yr Trend

+120%

1949

First Year

2026

Last Year

2026

Peak Year

#1482

Peak Rank

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Sunni

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Origin & history

Masjid al-Haram , the home of the Kaaba , in Mecca is the largest and most important mosque in the world. One common mistake is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammad's death, and that Sufism and Shi'ism developed out of Sunni Islam. This perception is partly due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works, and also because the vast majority of the Muslim population is Sunni. Both Sunnism and Shiism are the end products of several centuries of competition between ideologies. Bo

The Story of Sunni

Sunni first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1949, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2026, when 133 Sunnis were born — ranking #1,583 that year. As of 2026, Sunni ranks #1,583 for baby girls with 133 births, rising sharply (+120% over the past five years). In total, more than 3K Sunnis have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1940s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Sunni

Phonetically similar names — useful when Sunni is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Sunni

What does the name Sunni mean?

How popular is Sunni in 2026?

In 2026, Sunni ranks #1,583 among girls' names in the U.S., with 133 babies given the name that year.

When was Sunni most popular?

Sunni reached its peak popularity in 2026, ranking #1,482 that year with 133 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Sunni most popular?

Sunni has historically been most popular in Mississippi, Arkansas, Washington. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Sunni.

Is Sunni a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Sunni is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Sunni?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Sunni include Korina, Mima, Harvey. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Sunni

Sunni is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1949 and has accumulated 3K births in the dataset. Sunni's peak popularity came in 2026 when it ranked #1,482. Use the chart and map above to compare Sunni's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.