| Kunal | Surya | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Lotus; a bird with beautiful eyes | The sun |
| Origin | sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | KUH-nahl | SOOR-yah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1994 (60) | 2009 (68) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Vintage | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Kunal | Surya |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 24 | 269 |
| 2010s | 92 | 449 |
| 2000s | 324 | 439 |
| 1990s | 454 | 53 |
| 1980s | 351 | 0 |
| 1970s | 14 | 5 |
From the Sanskrit कुणाल (kuṇāla), usually glossed as 'lotus' and secondarily 'a bird with beautiful eyes' (the latter a folk etymology). Historically the name of Emperor Ashoka's son Kunala, 3rd century BCE.
Sanskrit name meaning 'the sun' and the name of the Hindu sun god. The fire connection is the sun as a celestial fire rather than fire directly; its primary sense is 'sun'.
Kunal and Surya are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Kunal means Lotus; a bird with beautiful eyes (sanskrit origin), while Surya means The sun (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Kunal first appears in 0 and Surya in 0, so Kunal has the longer recorded history.