Sultan
Boy · SUL-tan · Arabic
Sultan is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “ruler, authority”. In 2025 it ranked 377th for boys in the UK (124 babies) and 1,241st for boys in the US (161 babies).
What does Sultan mean?
Arabic
“ruler, authority”
Arabic for power or authority, later the title of Muslim sovereigns such as the Ottoman rulers.
- Say it
- SUL-tan
Is Sultan a girl's or a boy's name?
Sultan is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 124 boys in the UK and 161 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Sultan in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #377among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 124about 1 in 2,400 boys
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 73% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 124 boys in the UK were named Sultan, making it the 377th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 601st.
It has been given to more boys each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had the most boys named Sultan of any year since the records began in 1996.
Half of all the boys named Sultan in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Girls were 29% of the babies named Sultan in the UK in 1996, and 8% in 2017.
Among boys in 2025, it was 360th in England and Wales and 441st in Scotland.
Sultan in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 124 | #377 |
| 2024 | 100 | #449 |
| 2023 | 77 | #562 |
| 2022 | 62 | #648 |
| 2021 | 62 | #654 |
| 2020 | 68 | #601 |
| 2019 | 52 | #717 |
| 2018 | 54 | #705 |
| 2017 | 48 | #778 |
| 2016 | 60 | #660 |
| 2015 | 36 | #924 |
| 2014 | 35 | #925 |
| 2013 | 26 | #1,112 |
| 2012 | 27 | #1,099 |
| 2011 | 19 | #1,385 |
| 2010 | 24 | #1,170 |
| 2009 | 30 | #972 |
| 2008 | 25 | #1,102 |
| 2007 | 28 | #973 |
| 2006 | 23 | #1,065 |
| 2005 | 24 | #997 |
| 2004 | 23 | #983 |
| 2003 | 19 | #1,046 |
| 2002 | 19 | #988 |
| 2001 | 14 | #1,149 |
| 2000 | 21 | #862 |
| 1999 | 19 | #900 |
| 1998 | 16 | #980 |
| 1997 | 16 | #973 |
| 1996 | 10 | #1,290 |
How popular is Sultan in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,241among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 161about 1 in 11,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 33% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 161 boys in the US were named Sultan, making it the 1,241st most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,423rd. It first appears in the records in 1966.
2025 had the most boys named Sultan of any year since it first appeared, in 1966.
Half of all the boys named Sultan in the US since 1880 were born between 2001 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Sultan in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 161 | #1,241 |
| 2024 | 152 | #1,290 |
| 2023 | 128 | #1,420 |
| 2022 | 145 | #1,306 |
| 2021 | 109 | #1,583 |
| 2020 | 121 | #1,423 |
| 2019 | 102 | #1,614 |
| 2018 | 108 | #1,553 |
| 2017 | 92 | #1,707 |
| 2016 | 98 | #1,628 |
| 2015 | 70 | #2,036 |
| 2014 | 58 | #2,275 |
| 2013 | 49 | #2,490 |
| 2012 | 55 | #2,325 |
| 2011 | 43 | #2,747 |
| 2010 | 41 | #2,873 |
| 2009 | 35 | #3,222 |
| 2008 | 25 | #4,041 |
| 2007 | 18 | #4,994 |
| 2006 | 27 | #3,684 |
| 2005 | 32 | #3,168 |
| 2004 | 34 | #2,949 |
| 2003 | 26 | #3,438 |
| 2002 | 34 | #2,751 |
| 2001 | 40 | #2,425 |
| 2000 | 22 | #3,634 |
| 1999 | 27 | #3,027 |
| 1998 | 32 | #2,596 |
| 1997 | 23 | #3,155 |
| 1996 | 24 | #3,016 |
| 1995 | 26 | #2,757 |
| 1994 | 25 | #2,842 |
| 1993 | 21 | #3,135 |
| 1992 | 18 | #3,452 |
| 1991 | 24 | #2,747 |
| 1990 | 18 | #3,303 |
| 1989 | 21 | #2,896 |
| 1988 | 20 | #2,760 |
| 1987 | 15 | #3,197 |
| 1986 | 14 | #3,265 |
| 1985 | 21 | #2,426 |
| 1984 | 15 | #2,955 |
| 1983 | 11 | #3,629 |
| 1982 | 15 | #2,971 |
| 1981 | 19 | #2,495 |
| 1980 | 15 | #2,964 |
| 1979 | 22 | #2,235 |
| 1978 | 17 | #2,567 |
| 1977 | 17 | #2,555 |
| 1976 | 28 | #1,780 |
| 1975 | 26 | #1,834 |
| 1974 | 20 | #2,129 |
| 1973 | 14 | #2,604 |
| 1972 | 6 | #4,438 |
| 1971 | 8 | #3,656 |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 9 | #2,783 |
Names like Sultan
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Muhammad Musa Hamza Umar Zayan Zayaan Abdullah Ahmed Amir Mustafa Zayd Rayyan
Other spellings of Sultan
Sultaan
More Arabic names
Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Aaliyah Amira Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Kairo Safa