# Sunita (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/sunita/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Sanskrit |
| Meaning | “well guided” |
| Pronunciation | /suːˈniːtə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Sunny |
| Variant spellings | Suneeta |
| US babies named this | 609 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 609 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 63, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Sanskrit सुनीता (sunītā), the feminine of सुनीत (sunīta, “well guided”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 11 | 8,061 |
| 1997 | 12 | 7,688 |
| 1998 | 10 | 9,189 |
| 1999 | 8 | 11,244 |
| 2000 | 7 | 12,972 |
| 2001 | 15 | 7,279 |
| 2002 | 7 | 13,449 |
| 2003 | 7 | 13,682 |
| 2005 | 9 | 11,731 |
| 2006 | 12 | 9,842 |
| 2008 | 5 | 20,116 |
| 2009 | 7 | 15,056 |
| 2010 | 5 | 19,516 |
| 2014 | 6 | 16,285 |
| 2023 | 5 | 17,337 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 11 | 1,522 |
| 1997 | 8 | 1,958 |
| 1998 | 11 | 1,571 |
| 1999 | 7 | 2,189 |
| 2000 | 7 | 2,167 |
| 2001 | 4 | 3,262 |
| 2003 | 3 | 4,373 |
| 2005 | 6 | 2,970 |
| 2007 | 6 | 3,218 |

## People named Sunita

- Sunita Williams, American astronaut and naval officer

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.