Sue
Sue was given to 11 girls in 2025, #9,384 among girls’ names; 145,055 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 84,100 Americans named Sue and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (58% of everyone recorded); the median is 71 years old and half are between 65 and 79.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Sue by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Sue mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Sue is “a diminutive of the female given name Susan and of related female given names; popular as a middle name.”
/suː/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Sue?
#9,384 among girls’ names, 2025
Sue fell from #8,881 in 2015 to #9,384 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 7.3 to 6.8 per million.
5,318 babies in 1947, the peak
Sue peaked in 1947, when 5,318 babies were given it (5,306 girls, #69 among girls’ names). The 11 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11 | #9,384 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 13 | #8,370 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 9 | #11,065 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 5 | #17,454 | under 0.01 |
| 2021 | 5 | #17,394 | under 0.01 |
| 2019 | 6 | #15,339 | under 0.01 |
| 2018 | 16 | #7,376 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 10 | #10,606 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 12 | #9,359 | 0.01 |
| 2015 | 13 | #8,881 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 15 | #8,007 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 26 | #5,299 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 13 | #9,052 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 19 | #6,815 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 17 | #7,472 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 25 | #5,688 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 17 | #7,701 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 23 | #6,054 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 22 | #6,100 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 21 | #5,970 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 14 | #8,192 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 23 | #5,391 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 25 | #4,884 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 32 | #4,016 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 36 | #3,647 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 29 | #4,068 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 32 | #3,721 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 43 | #2,865 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 38 | #3,133 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 47 | #2,644 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 48 | #2,616 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 64 | #2,117 | 0.04 |
| 1992 | 68 | #2,023 | 0.04 |
| 1991 | 79 | #1,808 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 74 | #1,900 | 0.04 |
| 1989 | 86 | #1,624 | 0.05 |
| 1988 | 97 | #1,437 | 0.05 |
| 1987 | 101 | #1,360 | 0.06 |
| 1986 | 108 | #1,258 | 0.06 |
| 1985 | 140 | #1,059 | 0.08 |
| 1984 | 147 | #987 | 0.09 |
| 1983 | 171 | #889 | 0.10 |
| 1982 | 211 | #779 | 0.12 |
| 1981 | 270 | #658 | 0.16 |
| 1980 | 347 | #543 | 0.21 |
| 1979 | 272 | #642 | 0.17 |
| 1978 | 235 | #682 | 0.15 |
| 1977 | 280 | #606 | 0.18 |
| 1976 | 241 | #646 | 0.16 |
| 1975 | 293 | #567 | 0.20 |
| 1974 | 355 | #496 | 0.24 |
| 1973 | 396 | #463 | 0.27 |
| 1972 | 453 | #430 | 0.30 |
| 1971 | 632 | #372 | 0.38 |
| 1970 | 666 | #367 | 0.38 |
| 1969 | 810 | #318 | 0.48 |
| 1968 | 979 | #276 | 0.60 |
| 1967 | 1,258 | #232 | 0.76 |
| 1966 | 1,316 | #228 | 0.78 |
| 1965 | 1,775 | #190 | 1.0 |
| 1964 | 2,173 | #176 | 1.1 |
| 1963 | 2,591 | #155 | 1.3 |
| 1962 | 3,184 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 1961 | 3,506 | #130 | 1.7 |
| 1960 | 4,009 | #120 | 2.0 |
| 1959 | 4,387 | #107 | 2.2 |
| 1958 | 4,673 | #102 | 2.3 |
| 1957 | 4,490 | #104 | 2.2 |
| 1956 | 3,755 | #118 | 1.9 |
| 1955 | 3,729 | #116 | 1.9 |
| 1954 | 3,975 | #106 | 2.0 |
| 1953 | 3,648 | #106 | 1.9 |
| 1952 | 3,335 | #113 | 1.8 |
| 1951 | 3,357 | #106 | 1.9 |
| 1950 | 3,503 | #100 | 2.0 |
| 1949 | 3,926 | #88 | 2.3 |
| 1948 | 4,675 | #78 | 2.8 |
| 1947 | 5,306 | #69 | 3.0 |
| 1946 | 5,144 | #61 | 3.3 |
| 1945 | 3,914 | #66 | 3.0 |
| 1944 | 4,034 | #62 | 3.0 |
| 1943 | 3,850 | #72 | 2.8 |
| 1942 | 3,631 | #73 | 2.7 |
| 1941 | 3,359 | #75 | 2.8 |
| 1940 | 3,104 | #81 | 2.7 |
| 1939 | 2,623 | #92 | 2.4 |
| 1938 | 2,589 | #104 | 2.3 |
| 1937 | 2,504 | #101 | 2.4 |
| 1936 | 2,222 | #109 | 2.1 |
| 1935 | 2,024 | #115 | 1.9 |
| 1934 | 1,933 | #119 | 1.9 |
| 1933 | 1,670 | #131 | 1.7 |
| 1932 | 1,509 | #139 | 1.4 |
| 1931 | 1,220 | #153 | 1.1 |
| 1930 | 1,213 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 1929 | 944 | #198 | 0.85 |
| 1928 | 780 | #225 | 0.68 |
| 1927 | 678 | #251 | 0.57 |
| 1926 | 697 | #248 | 0.59 |
| 1925 | 673 | #255 | 0.55 |
| 1924 | 644 | #258 | 0.52 |
| 1923 | 598 | #262 | 0.50 |
| 1922 | 684 | #252 | 0.57 |
| 1921 | 668 | #256 | 0.54 |
| 1920 | 707 | #246 | 0.59 |
| 1919 | 693 | #242 | 0.61 |
| 1918 | 785 | #226 | 0.68 |
| 1917 | 778 | #218 | 0.72 |
| 1916 | 868 | #203 | 0.83 |
| 1915 | 812 | #203 | 0.83 |
| 1914 | 634 | #205 | 0.83 |
| 1913 | 483 | #215 | 0.77 |
| 1912 | 431 | #215 | 0.77 |
| 1911 | 330 | #214 | 0.79 |
| 1910 | 277 | #231 | 0.70 |
| 1909 | 243 | #231 | 0.70 |
| 1908 | 206 | #237 | 0.62 |
| 1907 | 201 | #233 | 0.63 |
| 1906 | 178 | #243 | 0.60 |
| 1905 | 191 | #225 | 0.65 |
| 1904 | 163 | #245 | 0.59 |
| 1903 | 146 | #252 | 0.56 |
| 1902 | 154 | #251 | 0.58 |
| 1901 | 135 | #250 | 0.56 |
| 1900 | 157 | #261 | 0.52 |
| 1899 | 122 | #259 | 0.52 |
| 1898 | 143 | #250 | 0.55 |
| 1897 | 145 | #229 | 0.62 |
| 1896 | 121 | #261 | 0.51 |
| 1895 | 157 | #219 | 0.67 |
| 1894 | 105 | #270 | 0.47 |
| 1893 | 123 | #237 | 0.58 |
| 1892 | 163 | #197 | 0.77 |
| 1891 | 127 | #210 | 0.68 |
| 1890 | 120 | #223 | 0.63 |
| 1889 | 112 | #220 | 0.63 |
| 1888 | 117 | #212 | 0.66 |
| 1887 | 123 | #182 | 0.84 |
| 1886 | 96 | #203 | 0.66 |
| 1885 | 94 | #195 | 0.71 |
| 1884 | 92 | #195 | 0.71 |
| 1883 | 68 | #217 | 0.61 |
| 1882 | 84 | #172 | 0.78 |
| 1881 | 67 | #186 | 0.73 |
| 1880 | 65 | #190 | 0.71 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Sue a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Sue has been given almost only to girls: 519 boys in 145 years of records.
Girls and boys named Sue: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Sue, and how old are they?
84,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 58% of the 145,055 Americans ever recorded as Sue. The median Sue alive today is 71 years old; half are between 65 and 79.
The 2020 Census counted 99,611 people named Sue (98,962 women and girls, 649 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 97,660 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 16,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 56,200 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 9,430 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,840 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 386 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 140 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Sue born?
The states with the most babies named Sue are Ohio, Michigan and Illinois, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 11,758 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Michigan | 9,453 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Illinois | 8,753 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| California | 8,190 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Texas | 7,814 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New York | 7,607 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 7,398 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Indiana | 6,758 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Kentucky | 5,120 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Wisconsin | 4,953 | not ranked | 1.4× |
Where Sue is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Sue is most over-represented in Indiana: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Sue with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 234,390 babies since 1880, Sue is the most given (62% of them). In 2025 it was given to 11 of their 136 babies (8.1%), the second most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Sue
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Sue and names like it
- Compare Sue and SusieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sSue peaked in 1947.
- Ohio’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Sue since 1910.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Sue.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Sue alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with SMost given first.