Fun Facts About the Name Sula
- More than 1 thousand babies named Sula: U.S. records list 1,404 babies given the name Sula from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Sula Mean?
The name Sula has more than one separate origin. Its clearest etymology is Old Norse: the noun súla means gannet, a large seabird. Icelandic and Faroese preserve the word and the accent as Súla, and both languages use it as a female given name. In that use, the literal meaning is simply gannet. English forms usually drop the accent, giving Sula.
A second, unrelated source is Greek. The female name Soula (Σούλα) is a diminutive formed with the suffix -ούλα. It serves as a pet form of longer names such as Athanasia (immortal), Anastasia (resurrection), and Despina (mistress or lady). Soula can also stand alone as a given name. Because it is a diminutive, it has no single lexical meaning of its own; its sense depends on the full name it shortens. The English spelling Sula may represent this Greek name, but it is not related to Old Norse súla.
Some modern name lists give peace as the meaning of Sula and label it Hebrew. That explanation is not supported by Hebrew vocabulary, where the word for peace is shalom. The related Hebrew name Shulamit is often explained as peaceful or perfect, but it is a different name. Peace for Sula appears to be a later symbolic or mistaken association rather than a literal etymology.
Sula Name History & Origins
Old Norse súla is attested as the common noun for the gannet. The same word lies behind the scientific genus name Sula, which was later applied to the boobies, a group of seabirds related to gannets. In the Nordic region, the word also became a personal name. In Iceland, Súla is used as a female given name; in the Faroe Islands, Súla is likewise a female name. It is a nature name taken directly from the bird, and the accent is retained in Icelandic and Faroese while English usage typically drops it.
The Greek name Soula developed separately. It is a diminutive used in Greece and among Greek communities abroad, especially as a familiar form of Athanasia, Anastasia, Despina, and similar names. It is not a translation of the Old Norse bird word. An English bearer named Sula could therefore have a Greek-derived name, an Old Norse-derived name, or another source; the spelling alone does not prove which.
In English, the best-known use is Toni Morrison's novel Sula (1973), whose central character is Sula Peace. The novel is a major literary work, but it is a later use of the name, not its origin. The name itself is not invented by Morrison, and the novel does not explain its etymology.
How Popular is the Name Sula?
Sula recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1921. Its best rank was #610 in 1888.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #13,035 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2024 | #9,451 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2023 | #17,314 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2022 | #10,299 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #9,475 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2020 | #10,980 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2018 | #11,324 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #10,607 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2016 | #16,007 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #10,771 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2014 | #11,833 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2013 | #11,857 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #13,332 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #16,533 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #13,542 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2005 | #16,197 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #18,471 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1968 | #6,911 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1967 | #7,710 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #6,481 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #7,177 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1959 | #4,263 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1958 | #5,338 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1953 | #5,598 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1951 | #4,338 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1950 | #4,275 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1949 | #2,982 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1948 | #2,687 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1947 | #3,673 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1946 | #2,222 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 1945 | #3,107 | 10 | 0.0008% |
| 1944 | #2,187 | 17 | 0.0013% |
| 1943 | #2,339 | 16 | 0.0011% |
| 1942 | #2,794 | 12 | 0.0009% |
| 1941 | #2,521 | 13 | 0.0011% |
| 1940 | #2,713 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1939 | #2,565 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1938 | #3,154 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1937 | #2,084 | 16 | 0.0015% |
| 1936 | #2,503 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1935 | #1,907 | 18 | 0.0017% |
| 1934 | #1,690 | 21 | 0.0020% |
| 1933 | #2,141 | 15 | 0.0015% |
| 1932 | #1,943 | 18 | 0.0017% |
| 1931 | #2,569 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1930 | #2,013 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1929 | #2,089 | 17 | 0.0015% |
| 1928 | #3,412 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1927 | #2,014 | 20 | 0.0017% |
| 1926 | #1,923 | 21 | 0.0018% |
| 1925 | #1,601 | 28 | 0.0023% |
| 1924 | #1,862 | 23 | 0.0018% |
| 1923 | #1,776 | 24 | 0.0020% |
| 1922 | #1,889 | 22 | 0.0018% |
| 1921 | #1,407 | 34 | 0.0028% |
| 1920 | #1,700 | 25 | 0.0021% |
| 1919 | #1,523 | 28 | 0.0025% |
| 1918 | #1,596 | 26 | 0.0022% |
| 1917 | #1,331 | 31 | 0.0029% |
| 1916 | #1,403 | 28 | 0.0027% |
| 1915 | #1,399 | 27 | 0.0027% |
| 1914 | #1,078 | 32 | 0.0042% |
| 1913 | #1,062 | 27 | 0.0043% |
| 1912 | #1,529 | 14 | 0.0025% |
| 1911 | #926 | 23 | 0.0055% |
| 1910 | #1,203 | 15 | 0.0038% |
| 1909 | #1,013 | 17 | 0.0049% |
| 1908 | #938 | 19 | 0.0057% |
| 1907 | #814 | 22 | 0.0069% |
| 1906 | #912 | 17 | 0.0058% |
| 1905 | #960 | 16 | 0.0055% |
| 1904 | #961 | 15 | 0.0054% |
| 1903 | #966 | 14 | 0.0053% |
| 1902 | #1,310 | 9 | 0.0034% |
| 1901 | #764 | 19 | 0.0079% |
| 1900 | #703 | 27 | 0.0090% |
| 1899 | #786 | 18 | 0.0077% |
| 1898 | #838 | 17 | 0.0066% |
| 1897 | #820 | 16 | 0.0068% |
| 1896 | #685 | 22 | 0.0092% |
| 1895 | #976 | 12 | 0.0051% |
| 1894 | #947 | 12 | 0.0054% |
| 1893 | #787 | 15 | 0.0070% |
| 1892 | #757 | 16 | 0.0075% |
| 1891 | #642 | 18 | 0.0097% |
| 1890 | #754 | 14 | 0.0074% |
| 1889 | #640 | 17 | 0.0095% |
| 1888 | #610 | 18 | 0.0101% |
| 1887 | #688 | 12 | 0.0082% |
| 1886 | #773 | 10 | 0.0069% |
| 1885 | #913 | 7 | 0.0053% |
| 1884 | #637 | 12 | 0.0093% |
| 1883 | #810 | 7 | 0.0062% |
| 1882 | #629 | 10 | 0.0093% |
| 1881 | #813 | 6 | 0.0065% |
| 1880 | #625 | 9 | 0.0099% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Sula Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are spiritually intense and can sting or charm. Your name brings love and new starts into life and attracts money. In business, you are the creator and promoter of original ideas and usually enjoy considerable financial success. Emergencies may raise your intuitive abilities in order to resolve conflict or situation. You become very creative under the pressure, and have quite original ideas to make the best out of it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Sula's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Sula's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.