| Surya | Kunal | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | The sun | Lotus; a bird with beautiful eyes |
| Origin | sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | SOOR-yah | KUH-nahl |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2009 (68) | 1994 (60) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Steady | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Surya | Kunal |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 269 | 24 |
| 2010s | 449 | 92 |
| 2000s | 439 | 324 |
| 1990s | 53 | 454 |
| 1980s | 0 | 351 |
| 1970s | 5 | 14 |
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'.
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.
Surya and Kunal are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Surya means The sun (sanskrit origin), while Kunal means Lotus; a bird with beautiful eyes (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Surya first appears in 0 and Kunal in 0, so Surya has the longer recorded history.