Given name & surname · also Sanskrit
Sunil
“very dark blue”·“a deep dark-blue gem”
Sunil is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “very dark blue” (Sanskrit) and “a deep dark-blue gem” (Indian). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “very dark blue” (Sanskrit) and “a deep dark-blue gem” (Indian). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Sanskrit.
How it developed
From Sanskrit सुनील (“very black or blue, dark”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1962. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Sunil through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 989
- 989 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1979
- 42 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2019. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,064 as a first name in 2020; 538 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.
Sunil’s family of names
In English usage, Sunil has a diminutive in Sunny. Sunil has a feminine form in Sunila. Sunil has a related form in Suneel.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Sunil has relatives in 7 languages. Lines run from its Sanskrit roots to each of them.
7 related names in 7 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Sunil
- Sunil ChhetriIndian football playerborn 1984
- Sunil DuttHindi film actor and politician (1929–2005)
- Suniel ShettyIndian actor and film producerborn 1961
- Sunil GavaskarIndian cricket playerborn 1949
- Sunil Mittalbusinesspersonborn 1957
- Sunil GangopadhyayAward-winning and bestselling Bengali poet and author (1934-2012)
- Sunil GroverIndian comedian and actorborn 1977
- Sunil NarineWest Indian cricketerborn 1989
- Sunil KothariIndian academic (1933-2020)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Sunil, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Salil
“of the water”
>99% boys
Sanjiv
“one who lives a long lite”
>99% boys
Vipul
“a man of plenty”
>99% boys
Sanjeet
“one who is invincible”
>99% boys
Vinod
“driving away” · “removal”
>99% boys
Alok
“light, radiance”
>99% boys
Anup
Anup is a masculine given name from Sanskrit.
>99% boys
Sapan
“a dream or vision”
>99% boys