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Sunshine

#2,952 in 2025Girls' name

Sun + shine

Sunshine has been given to 5,779 babies in the U.S. since 1905. In 2025 it ranked #2,952 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1975, with 324 recorded.

Babies named Sunshine, 2025

1 in 58,200

Sunshine over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Sunshine: meaning, origin, and history

Sun + shine

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Sunshine means

Sunshine means “sun + shine”.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,734 girls were recorded with the name Sunshine between 1905 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 324 in 1975; its best national rank was #534 in 1975.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,374 in 2020 to #2,952 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #2,998 in 2015 to #2,952 in 2025.

In the United States, 45 boys were recorded with the name Sunshine between 1971 and 2023. Its highest annual count was 9 in 1976; its best national rank was #3,969 in 1976.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Sunshine?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 58,200
57 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 28,200
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#2,952
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
40,315 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Sunshine sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 40,315 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Sunshine. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Sunshines were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Sunshine was born before 1983 — so the typical Sunshine is around 42 today.

Median birth year
1983
About 42 years old
Biggest decade
1970s
33.3% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
30.9%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
5,502
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1970s — 33.3% of all recorded uses (1,911).

Is Sunshine rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−295
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−578
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+46
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
0.98×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
17.6%
Peak was 1975 (324)
Years since peak
50
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
16.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#534
1975

Where Sunshine is used

Across 2016–2025, Sunshine was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 16,667 girls, against 1 in 32,137 across all states with data. It was least common in New York (1 in 100,000).

16 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 16,667
  2. 2Arizona1 in 20,000
  3. 3Alabama1 in 33,333
  4. 4Minnesota1 in 33,333
  5. 5Texas1 in 33,333
  6. 6Florida1 in 50,000
  7. 7Indiana1 in 50,000
  8. 8Wisconsin1 in 50,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Sunshine around the world

Where Sunshine ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1997–2025
    #4,201
    in 2025
  • France
    1999–2025
    #6,327
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1997–2024
    #2,463
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1974–2013
    #818
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Sunshine

People whose public names include Sunshine, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Sunshine by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#2,952
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 578
Best rank ever
#534
1975
Peak year
1975
324 that year
First recorded
1905
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,734
Count in 2025
57

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#3,969
1976
Peak year
1976
9 that year
First recorded
1971
Last recorded
2023
All-time count
45
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Sunshine

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

EmmelineCharlineMadalineCoralineEmmalineGermaineRosalineKarolineJoselineDelphineSundayJazzmineJackelineMarcelineSunnieKathrineAugustineMaurineEmelineMadelaineCelestineEvelinePearlineRoseline

Names with a curve like Sunshine

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Sunshine, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

AmiNakiaDustyNicolleAmityCicelyChastityAngelicKeshaShaniKamiJanuary

Sibling names for Sunshine

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Sunshine

Top names of 1975, Sunshine's peak yearThe 1970s in fullOther names that peaked in 1975Girls' names starting with S