How popular is the baby name Sullivan in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Sullivan.
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Most of the babies conceived during 2019 will be born during 2020 — a year that happens to mirror 20/20 (twenty-twenty), the term we use for perfect vision. It’s such a strong association that, just for fun, I put together a list of vision-related baby names for all those parents anticipating the arrival of 2020 babies…
Aisling, Irish, “vision” or “dream.”
Basar, Arabic, “sight.”
Butta-kuz, Mongolian, “camel eyes.” Implies “wide, beautiful eyes” like Maha and Najla, below.
Charopus, ancient Greek, “glad-eyed” or “bright-eyed.” Also spelled Charops.
Daisy, from Old English dægeseage, “day’s eye.” Daisies open during the day and close at night.
Drishti, Hindi, “gaze.”
Hawkeye, originally a character in The Last of the Mohicans (1826).
Hitomi, Japanese, “pupil [of the eye].” Can mean other things as well, though, depending on the kanji.
Lochan/Lochana, Hindi, “eye.”
Maha, Arabic, “wide, beautiful eyes.” Refers to either wild cow eyes or oryx eyes specifically.
Maka, Hawaiian, “eyes.” Also: Namaka, “the eyes,” and Makanui, “big eyes.”
Mantius/Manto (masc./fem.), from ancient Greek mantis, “seer, prophet.”
Najla, Arabic, “wide, beautiful eyes.” Refers to either wild cow eyes or oryx eyes specifically. Also spelled Nagla.
Nayan, Hindi, “eye.”
Nayra, Aymara, “eye,” “sight,” or “past.”
Nazir, Arabic, “observant” or “spectator.” Can mean other things as well, though.
Panope/Panopea, ancient Greek, “all-seeing.”
Rana, Arabic, “eye-catching.”
Ruya, Arabic, “vision” or “dream.”
Sibyl, ancient Greek, “prophetess.” Also spelled Sybil.
Sullivan, anglicized Irish surname, “descendant of the little dark-eyed one.”
Tarisai, Shona, “look at, behold.”
Vision, which began appearing in the U.S. baby name data nearly 20 years ago.
And here are some names that simply begin with the word see:
On August 21, the United States will see its first coast-to-coast solar eclipse since 1918. If you’re planning to have (or conceive!) a baby around the time of the eclipse, you might be interested in a name that marks the event (but that perhaps isn’t as obvious as Eclipse itself).
So what are your options?
Names with “celestial” associations
A solar eclipse involves the alignment of three celestial bodies — the sun (a star), the moon, and the Earth — in the sky. You could use a name that is associated in some way with one of these elements, such as…
“Sun” names
Haru (Japanese)
Helios (ancient Greek)
Hina (Japanese)
Inti (Quechua)
Nou (Hmong)
Ra (ancient Egyptian)
Ravi (Sanskrit)
Shams (Arabic)
Sol (Spanish & Portuguese, ultimately from Latin)
Solaris (Latin)
Soleil (French)
Sunniva (Old English)
Sunny (English)
Surya (Sanskrit)
“Star” names
Aster (ancient Greek)
Astra (based on the ancient Greek word)
Citlalli (Nahuatl)
Estelle (French)
Estrella (Spanish)
Hoshi (Japanese)
Najm & Najma (Arabic)
Seren (Welsh)
Star (English)
Starla (based on the English word)
Stjarna (Icelandic)
Stella (Latin)
Tähti (Finnish)
Tara (Sanskrit)
“Moon” names
Aylin (Turkish)
Badr (Arabic)
Chandra (Sanskrit)
Dal (Korean)
Dawa (Tibetan)
Ilargi (Basque)
Luna (Latin)
Lusine (Armenian)
Mahina (Hawaiian & Tongan)
Máni (Icelandic)
Metztli (Nahuatl)
Moon (English)
Qamar (Arabic)
Selene (ancient Greek)
“Earth” names
Avani (Sanskrit)
Bhumi (Sanskrit)
Eartha (based on the English word)
Gaia (ancient Greek)
Ki (Sumerian)
Tierra (Spanish)
Tlalli (Nahuatl)
“Sky” names
Akash (Sanskrit)
Alya (Arabic)
Anu (Sumerian)
Caelus (Latin)
Céleste (French)
Ciel (French)
Cielo (Spanish)
Lani (Hawaiian)
Ortzi (Basque)
Sky (English)
Skyla (based on the English word)
Sora (Japanese)
You could even look for a name that contains more than one of these elements. I’ve come across a handful of names that happen to contain both an element meaning “sun” and an element meaning “moon,” for instance. Examples include Ravichandra (Sanskrit), Künnei (Yakut), Aygün (Turkish), and Günay (also Turkish).
Names with “dark” associations
The main event, from an Earthling’s perspective, is the darkening of the sun thanks to the moon getting in the way and casting its shadow over us. So you could use a name associated in some way with darkness, such as…
“Shadow” names
Chhaya (Sanskrit)
Shade (English)
Shadow (English)
Umbra (Latin)
Zalaph (Hebrew)
Zillah (Hebrew)
“Dark” or “Black” names
Adham (Arabic)
Blake (English surname)
Charna (Yiddish)
Ciar & Ciara (Irish)
Ciarán (Irish)
Dubhán (Irish)
Duff (Irish surname)
Jett (English)
Kara (Turkish)
Krishna (Sanskrit)
Melaina (ancient Greek)
Melania (Latin, based on melaina)
Mélanie (French form of Melania)
Raven (English)
Sullivan (Irish surname)
“Night” names
Layla (Arabic)
Nisha (Sanskrit)
Njóla (Icelandic)
Noctis (Latin)
Nox (Latin)
Nyx (ancient Greek)
Rajani (Sanskrit)
Rajnish (Sanskrit)
Tuta (Quechua)
Yoalli (Nahuatl)
I think Blake and Sullivan are particularly intriguing choices.
The English surname Blake can come from either of two similar Middle English words that happen to have opposite definitions: blac, meaning “black,” or blac, meaning “wan, pale, white, fair.” So it manages to encapsulate the concepts of both darkness and lightness — two key elements of an eclipse.
And the Irish surname Sullivan, “descendant of Súileabhán,” is based on the Gaelic personal name Súileabhán, meaning “little dark eye” — which sounds a lot like a poetic description of an eclipse.
Name pairings with both “celestial” and “dark” associations
You could combine some of the “celestial” and “dark” names above to get something more specific, like…
Layla Soleil: “night” and “sun”
Jett Helios: “black” and “sun”
Ciarán Sol: “black” and “sun”
Mélanie Stella: “dark” and “star” (“Dark Star” is also a Grateful Dead song)
Luna Zillah: “moon” and “shadow” (“Moon Shadow” is also a Cat Stevens song)
Names (or name pairings) featuring the letters “S” and “E”
This is as inconspicuous as it gets. Commemorate the solar eclipse simply by using the letters “S” and “E” in combination. You could choose a single name that starts with “Se-,” like…
Sela Selene (“moon” in Greek) Selma Seraphina Seren (“star” in Welsh) Serenity
Sean Sebastian Sefton Sergio Seth Severino
Or, you could use a pair of names that start with “S-” and “E-,” such as…
Sabrina Eden Sydney Elise Sarah Evangeline Susanna Elizabeth
Simon Elijah Spencer Ellis Shane Everett Samuel Edward
Which of the above names (or combos) do you like most? What other solar eclipse-themed ideas would you add to this list?
Updates…
5/15/2018: The baby name Eclipse debuted in the 2017 SSA data! The baby name Moon also more than tripled in usage last year.
12/10/2021: Did you know that Cleopatra gave her twins the middle names Selene and Helios?
12/31/2022: The rare Icelandic name Myrkvi can mean “eclipse” (also “darkness”).
2/28/2023: Actress Soleil Moon Frye‘s given names mean “sun” and (of course) “moon.”
4/22/2024: A baby born during the April 2024 total solar eclipse was named Sol Celeste.
Sources:
Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
As usual, the disclaimer: Some of the names below were already on the rise. Others may have been influenced by more than just the single pop culture person/event listed. I leave it up to you to judge the degree/nature of pop culture influence in each case.
I was surprised that Adonis and Wade jumped in usage as much as they did.
I was also surprised that Wrigley barely jumped at all in usage. Maybe “Wrigley” reminds too many people of gum?
Where the heck is Usain? Why is Usain not in the data yet? Sure, track and field is relatively unpopular in the United States. Still, I thought Rio might do it — with the help of that viral photo of Usain Bolt cheekily grinning at the competition in the middle of that 100 meter sprint.
Finally, as a former ’80s kid, I did have my fingers crossed for Voltron. Oh well…
How about you? Did any of these rises/falls surprise you?
You’re taking a midday stroll in the park when you happen to fall into step with a friendly pregnant lady. The two of you chat about all sorts of things — from current events to Yankee Swap optimization strategies — until the clouds roll in and the wind picks up. As you both walk back to the parking lot, you ask if she’s chosen a name for the baby yet. She says no, then tells you the gist of what she’s looking for:
I am expecting a third son, to brothers Lincoln and Sullivan. I like surnames as first names (obviously!) and would love a science or literary connected name.
“Do you have any suggestions?”
You’re a name-lover, and you could potentially give her dozens of suggestions. But the temperature has dropped, so you only have time to give her five baby name suggestions before the two of you part ways.
But here’s the fun part: Instead of blurting out the first five names you come up with (which is what you’d be forced to do in real life) you get to press a magical “pause” button, brainstorm for a bit, and then “unpause” the scenario to offer her the best five names you can think of.
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you brainstorm:
Be independent. Decide on your five names before looking at anyone else’s five names.
Be sincere. Would you honestly suggest these particular baby names out loud to a stranger in public?
Five names only! All names beyond the first five in your comment will be either deleted or replaced with nonsense words.
HINT: If one or more of your name suggestions has a science/literature connection that’s subtle or obscure, try adding context with a description (e.g., “physicist,” “mystery writer”) instead of a full name.
Finally, here’s the request again:
I am expecting a third son, to brothers Lincoln and Sullivan. I like surnames as first names (obviously!) and would love a science or literary connected name.
Which five baby names would you suggest?
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