Given name & surname
Surya
“the sun or its deity”
Surya is a masculine given name from Sanskrit, meaning “the sun or its deity.”
Original Sanskritसूर्य
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Sanskrit.
How it developed
The name draws on Sanskrit sūrya, meaning “sun”.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1977. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Surya through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,549
- 1,215 boys · 334 girls
- Most popular year
- 2009
- 83 babies
- 2025
- 53
- #2,750 for boys · #14,734 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +15%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 83% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 47 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,750 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 14.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 68 in 2009. It also appeared in 6 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (8). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,767 as a first name in 2020; 229 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.
Surya’s family of names
In English usage, Surya has a conventional equivalent in the Marathi form सूर्य. In English usage, Surya was borrowed from सूर्य. In English usage, Surya has a conventional equivalent in the Bengali form সূর্য.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Surya has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Sanskrit roots to each of them.
Sanskritwhere Surya comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Surya
- Surya BonalyFrench figure skaterborn 1973
- Surya SenBritish Indian Bengali revolutionary (1894-1934)
- Suryakumar YadavIndian cricketerborn 1990
- Mouly SuryaIndonesian filmmakerborn 1980
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Surya, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Shrey
Shrey is a masculine given name from Sanskrit.
>99% boys
Sandesh
“message, news”
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Pradyumna
Pradyumna is a masculine given name from Sanskrit.
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Aryan
“noble; noble one”
94% boys · 6% girls
Shaurya
Shaurya is a masculine given name from Sanskrit.
>99% boys
Rishab
“one who is musically talented”
>99% boys
Abhinav
Abhinav is a masculine given name from Sanskrit.
>99% boys
Sampath
“a wealthy man”
>99% boys