Recorded 1884–2025 · United States
Sullivan was most popular in 2025, when 1,157 American babies were given the name — ranking #573 that year. In 2025 it ranked #573, with 1,157 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 17,077 people named Sullivan.
Sullivan first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1884, which makes it about 141 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 127 of the 142 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 17,077 American births named Sullivan between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 16,346 are estimated to be alive today.
1,157 American babies were named Sullivan in 2025, ranking #573 that year.
Sullivan is rising. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 1,045 births a year, against 625 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +67% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Sullivan is mostly a boy’s name — 8.4% of the 17,077 Americans given it were girls and 91.6% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 9% girls and 91% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 16,346 Americans named Sullivan are alive today — 96% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 9 years old, and half are between 4 and 15. That is a narrow band because Sullivan is a young name — it only became common recently, so almost everyone carrying it is still a child or a young adult.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Sullivan on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org