Image by J.E.S. via Flickr
There’s something tremendously upbeat about this Irish surname.
Thanks to Kelly for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day: Sullivan.
Sullivan is instantly recognizable as an Irish surname. There’s general consensus that the name translates to something like “little dark eyed one.”
But if you have any familiarity with musical theater, chances Sullivan brings to mind The Pirates of Penzance or The Mikado or any of the tremendously popular Gilbert & Sullivan operettas from the Victorian era. W.S. Gilbert wrote the lyrics; Arthur Sullivan, the music. The rest is history.
The surname appeared in the US Top 1000 a few times in the nineteenth century, but Sullivan’s real climb is recent – and fueled, at least in part, by a blue, furry monster.
Pixar‘s Monsters, Inc. was the studio’s fourth feature film, released in 2001. Mike Wazowski – a one-eyed green ball with legs – and James P. Sullivan, called Sulley, report to work every day at Monstropolis’ power plant. They sneak into kids’ bedrooms, scare them, and bottle the screams to power the city. Things go whopper-jawed when a child they call Boo sneaks into Monstropolis, and discovers that Sulley is a loveable goofball, not a scary beast.
Sure enough, Sullivan entered the US Boys’ Top 1000 in 2002. He’d climbed to #651 by 2009.
It’s not just the friendly monster raising Sullivan’s profile:
- In 2007, Patrick Dempsey welcomed twin sons Darby Galen and Sullivan Patrick. He’d already shown a preference for Irish appellations when he and wife Jillian welcomed daughter Talula Fyfe in 2002;
- Sullivan fits with the tide of popular Irish names, from Ryan to Riley, but his three-syllable pattern is more akin to newcomers like Donovan;
- Fictional characters have worn the surname, like Third Watch’s John Sullivan – known as Sully – and Clark Kent‘s BFF on Smallville, Chloe Sullivan;
- The three kids on Everybody Loves Raymond were played by real life siblings: big sister Madylin, and twin brothers Sawyer and Sullivan – though on the show, they were the more ordinary Alexandra, Geoffrey, and Michael.
Nickname Sully has a few advantages. He’s a great choice for parents who fret that their boy Bailey will be mistaken for a girl. Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger earned his place in history when he successfully landed a disabled aircraft – a commercial flight with over 150 passengers on board – in New York’s Hudson River in 2009. It lends the name a vaguely heroic vibe. So does the fictional hero of Avatar, wounded Marine Jake Sully.
Sully is also a common place name in France, and there was a prominent duc de Sully. If you’re looking at a map, there’s also Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina, the site of the former Fort Moultrie. Edgar Allen Poe was stationed there, and it inspired his writing. Pat Conroy also set a novel there.
It all makes for a friendly name, one that is thoroughly Irish, quite current, and wearable for a child or a grown-up. While Sullivan is stylish, he’s not yet so common that you’d expect to hear him everywhere. It’s an appealing combination for parents distraught to realize that Aidan has long since ceased to sound original.
I do kind of like this one, but there are other Irish names I like better (Eamon, Seamus, Conall, Dermot). I think Van might be a usable nickname, too, if Sully doesn’t trip your trigger.
I do like Van as a nickname. Great suggestion!
Sullivan is nice enough. It’s one I’ve never been very excited about, but as a brown-eyed girl myself, I love that it means “little dark-eyed one.”
Sullivan is one of my husband’s favorite names ever. I don’t really care for it much at all. I like it fine for someone else’s kid, but it just gets under my skin because my husband constantly suggests it.
But it must be nice to have him HAVE a favorite name. I’m jealous!
I like Sullivan. But Sully always reminds me of Biff and Sully, the garbagemen who carried Oscar around in his can on Sesame Street.
Ha! I’d completely forgotten that. But the meaning of Sully is a strike against it, I suppose …
I like Sully more than Sullivan but like that both skew very masculine. I may be dating myself here, but wasn’t there a Sully on “Dr. Quiinn, Medicine Woman” back in the day? I seem to think “Mike & Sully” meant something there too. *Shrug* too lazy to go check.
But I do like Sully, he’s a bit dashing and a little pugnacious feeling. I like that too. Sullivan doesn’t work for me, personally (Sounds like a construction firm when paired with my surname). But I would love to meet one (or more)!
I really like Sully and Sullivan, or Van as a nickname would be fine too (I didn’t mind it on Reba). Sullivan definitely sounds Irish, and since I have a lot of Irish background that alone adds a giant appeal. I like other Irish names, especially Aoife, Caoimhe, and Seamus, but I’m extremely hesitant to use something most of the people I know won’t be able to spell. I also don’t intend to change the spellings to fit the pronunciation – that just doesn’t work for me.
Sullivan, however, is familiar, not overused, is definitely masculine, has a nice meaning, and is quite easy to spell. I think I’d call that a win in my book. I think the only drawback that keeps it from being a favorite on my list is the meaning of Sully: to make soiled or tarnished, defile. Not such a good meaning. :’( Other than that, I have no objections and would happily use it for a child.
Oh, and I love Monsters Inc., it’s probably one of my favorite Pixar movies.
One of my friends is named Caoimhe. She loves it but she hates spelling it! By the way does anyone find it weird that Sully has blue eyes?!?! LOL
Lol, that is funny! Caoimhe is a gorgeous name, it’s really too bad that I’m so conservative about spelling.
I love Sullivan. I am having my gender determining ultrasound tomorrow. If this baby is a boy, his name will be Sullivan. I took this post as a good omen.
Wow, April – congratulations! How VERY exciting.
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We love the name Sullivan and we just thought of it last weekend. I come from an Irish family and our favorite spot to hang out as a family is Sullivans Island,
SC…which is where we were when it hit us. Literally hours later we heard a mother call for her son… “Sully…” My wife and I looked at each other like it was fate.
We moved away from Charleston a few years ago and miss it dearly. We asked the woman where she came up with the name and she said she her family
moved from Charleston years ago and named all of thier kids after Charleston in some form (Cooper, Ashley, Charles and Sullivan). We think we will use it
for a girl or a boy (we arent finding out). Sullivan David (Sully) or Sullivan Ann (Sully or Sully Ann) as nicknames.
Sullivan has recently popped on my radar and I’m liking it more and more. You may remember me as the searcher for the perfect boy’s name with a v in the middle to honor my husband Trevor and FIL Ivan. I’m finally pregnant, with a boy, and Sullivan and Evan are serious contenders. I even found an ancestor named Sullivan (gr-gr-gr-grandmother’s maiden name), so if pressed I can claim it’s a family name. Win-win.
I just recently named my son Sullivan Cole.. I’ve had mixed reactions, but for the most part it’s been very positive. We call him Sully all the time.. I think Sullivan is a truly cool name.