How common is the surname Sullivan?

220,990 people in the United States had the surname Sullivan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,397 Americans. It ranked 105th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Sullivan?

Louis Sullivan, American architect (1856-1924), followed by Anne Sullivan.

Where is the surname Sullivan most common?

Wikidata records people named Sullivan in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 2 other countries.

How do you pronounce Sullivan?

Sullivan is /ˈsʌlɪvən/, 3 syllables.

Is the surname Sullivan getting more or less common?

More common. 215,640 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 220,990 in 2010, up 2.5%.

The surname Sullivan

An Irish surname, carried by 220,990 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈsʌlɪvən/ 3 syllables Soundex S415

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Sullivan is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Clipping of O'Sullivan. From Irish Ó Súilleabháin.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 220,990 people named Sullivan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,397 Americans. That is up 2.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 215,640.

#105

rank among US surnames

220,990

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.5%

change since 2000 (was #92)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#96	Myers	229,895	1,343
#97	Long	229,374	1,346
#98	Ross	229,368	1,346
#99	Foster	227,764	1,356
#100	Jimenez	227,118	1,359
#101	Powell	224,874	1,373
#102	Jenkins	222,653	1,387

Who is named Sullivan

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

88% of people named Sullivan identified as white (not Hispanic), 7.1% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 88%
Black (not Hispanic) 7.1%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Sullivans

71 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Louis Sullivan
American architect (1856-1924)
Anne Sullivan
American teacher (1866–1936)
Kathryn D. Sullivan
American astronaut (born 1951)
Ed Sullivan
American television host (1901-1974)
Dennis Sullivan
American mathematician, born 1941
Jake Sullivan
American attorney and politician (born 1976)
Harry Stack Sullivan
American psychiatrist & psychoanalyst (1892-1949)
Nicole Sullivan
American actress, born 1970
Jazmine Sullivan
American singer, born 1987
Erik Sullivan
American actor (born 1991)
Susan Sullivan
American actress (b. 1942)
John L. Sullivan
American boxer (1858–1918)

Notable Sullivans come mostly from the United States (62), the United Kingdom (4) and Australia (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Sullivant

Surnames that sound like Sullivan

Sylvain

Sullivan has the Soundex code S415, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S415.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Sullivan come from?: Clipping of O'Sullivan. From Irish Ó Súilleabháin.
How common is the surname Sullivan?: 220,990 people in the United States had the surname Sullivan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,397 Americans. It ranked 105th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Sullivan?: In the 2010 Census, 88% of people named Sullivan identified as white (not Hispanic), and 7.1% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Sullivan?: Louis Sullivan, American architect (1856-1924), followed by Anne Sullivan.
Where is the surname Sullivan most common?: Wikidata records people named Sullivan in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce Sullivan?: Sullivan is /ˈsʌlɪvən/, 3 syllables.
Is the surname Sullivan getting more or less common?: More common. 215,640 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 220,990 in 2010, up 2.5%.
What are other spellings of Sullivan?: Sullivant.