Girls' name · peaked in 1946
Sue name popularity since 1925
131,638 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Sue. Half of them were born in 1950 or earlier, so the typical Sue is about 76 years old in 2026. Sue peaked in 1946 as the #61 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 131,638
- Named Sue, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #9,387 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% girls
- 131,126 girls · 512 boys
- Most popular in
- Indiana
- 2.15× its national share
Peak year is the year Sue made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Sue births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1947. Measured as a share of all babies, Sue peaked in 1946.
- Fastest rise: Between 1927 and 1932, Sue became 2.5× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1965 and 1970, its share of baby girls fell by 62%, from 1 in 994 to 1 in 2,620.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Sue's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Sue.
Decade by decade
Babies named Sue in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 3,772 | 10 | – |
| 1930s | 19,507 | 83 | #115 |
| 1940s | 40,943 | 139 | #66 |
| 1950s | 38,852 | 75 | #116 |
| 1960s | 21,601 | 39 | #190 |
| 1970s | 3,823 | 15 | #567 |
| 1980s | 1,678 | 93 | #1,059 |
| 1990s | 522 | 58 | #2,649 |
| 2000s | 238 | 0 | #5,975 |
| 2010s | 147 | 0 | #8,886 |
| 2020–25 | 43 | 0 | #9,387 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
55.9% of babies named Sue from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Sue is most popular
The index compares Sue's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Sue.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 2.15× | 6,630 |
| Kentucky | 2.09× | 4,554 |
| West Virginia | 2.01× | 2,297 |
| Wisconsin | 1.92× | 4,922 |
| Ohio | 1.89× | 11,313 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Sue's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Sue.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Sue (1946).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data