A 1880s favorite, climbing again.
Popularity of Sula since 1880
Babies named Sula per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1921, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Sula's real moment was 1888.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 108 |
| 1890s | 160 |
| 1900s | 175 |
| 1910s | 251 |
| 1920s | 223 |
| 1930s | 151 |
| 1940s | 136 |
| 1950s | 39 |
| 1960s | 22 |
| 1970s | 0 |
| 1980s | 0 |
| 1990s | 0 |
| 2000s | 19 |
| 2010s | 67 |
| 2020s | 53 |
Meaning & origin
Sula is a concise, melodic name with layered origins and a steady revival in recent years. First recorded in the United States in 1880, it saw its early peak in 1888 and has been rising again since 2007. As of 2025, it ranks 11,932, a rare but growing choice with an estimated 1 in every 229,610 girls named Sula. The name's current trajectory reflects a taste for short, vowel-ending names with historical depth, echoing broader trends that also embrace names like Nora and Mae. Its flexible heritage, touching both English diminutive traditions and Irish nature vocabulary, gives it a quiet, unshowy appeal.
Sula is a name of uncertain origin. It may be a diminutive form of Ursula, from the Latin 'ursa' meaning 'she-bear'; or perhaps from an Irish word for 'sun'. In the early 20th century, the name gained attention through the character Sula Peace in Toni Morrison's 1973 novel 'Sula', though the name had been in occasional use in the United States since the 1880s.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Sue
Sibling names for Sula
Names that share Sula's style, for a brother or sister.
