Given name & surname · also African, Arabic
Sultan
“a ruler”·“one who is bold”
Sultan is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “a ruler” and “one who is bold”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “a ruler” and “one who is bold”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1966. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Sultan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,396
- 2,396 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 161 babies
- 2025
- 161
- #1,243 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +33%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 161 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,243 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 33.4% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (27). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,752 as a first name in 2020; 4,122 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Sultan’s family of names
In English usage, Sultan shares an earlier linguistic root with Zoltan. Sultan has a related form in Sultane. Sultan has a related form in Sulten.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Sultan
- Sultan Kösentallest living humanborn 1982
- Sultan bin Salman Al SaudSaudi Arabian astronaut and politicianborn 1956
- Sultan bin AbdulazizCrown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Second deputy prime minister, and the minister of defense (1928-2011)1926–2011
- Amet-khan SultanCrimean Tatar WWII flying ace, test pilot, and twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1920-1971)
- Sultan Al-GhannamSaudi Arabian footballerborn 1994
- Sultan al-Atrashprominent Arab Druze leader, Syrian nationalist and Commander General of the Syrian Revolution (1925–1927)1891–1982
- Sultan BahuPunjabi Sufi mystic, poet and scholar (1630–1691)
- Sultan Ali KeshtmandAfghan politician (1935～2026)
- Sultan Agung of MataramSultan of Mataram (1593-1645)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Sultan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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