NameRealm
Sunni

Sunni: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“of the tradition”
Origin
Arabic
Say it
SOON-ee · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls (98% of all uses)

Sunni is best known as the English form of an Islamic religious designation from Arabic sunnī, 'traditional' or 'following the Sunna.' As a personal name, use may also reflect overlap with Sunny. The origin of this name is not settled among etymologists.

Arabic namesNames meaning faithModern namesShort names

How popular is Sunni?

202440.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Sunni in 2024134

2024 rank#1,661 girls

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 18802,528

Sunni is rising: use over the last five years is 3.4× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Sunni

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Laylanight · Arabic
  • Lylanight · Arabic
  • Aaliyahexalted, rising · Arabic
  • Amiraprincess; commander · Arabic
  • Lilahnight · Arabic
  • Lilanight · Arabic
  • Nylaattainer; successful · Arabic
  • Zarablooming flower · Arabic

Sunni questions

What does the name Sunni mean?

Sunni means "of the tradition". It comes from Arabic. Sunni is best known as the English form of an Islamic religious designation from Arabic sunnī, 'traditional' or 'following the Sunna.' As a personal name, use may also reflect overlap with Sunny.

Is Sunni a boy or girl name?

Sunni is mainly a girl's name in US records (98% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Sunni?

134 US babies were named Sunni in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Sunni?

Sunni is usually pronounced SOON-ee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.