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Sukanya
How to Pronounce Sukanya
Pronounced soo-KAHN-yuh /suˈkɑːn.jə/Medium
Meaning: Sukanya is a Sanskrit name combining su, meaning good or well, with kanya, meaning maiden or young woman, so a good or beautiful maiden. In the Mahabharata, Sukanya is a devoted princess who marries the aged sage Chyavana and, through her faithfulness, has his youth restored by the divine Ashvins. It is a traditional Indian name with a genuine literary heritage.Medium
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Sukanya is an authentic Sanskrit name formed from su, good, and kanya, maiden. Its best-known bearer is the princess Sukanya of the Mahabharata, celebrated for her loyalty to the sage Chyavana. Carried to the United States by families of South Asian heritage, it appears in American birth records from the late 1990s and was given to only a small number of girls, reflecting a modest immigrant community rather than any wider fashion.
It has always been rare in the United States, given to only a couple dozen girls a year at its peak, so a girl named Sukanya then would be in her early twenties today. Rather than a revival, it represents steady heritage naming among Indian American families, for whom its Mahabharata associations remain meaningful.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Sukanya mean?
It is a Sanskrit name meaning good or beautiful maiden, from su, good, and kanya, maiden; a princess bears it in the Mahabharata.
How do you pronounce Sukanya?
It's said soo-KAHN-yuh /suˈkɑːn.jə/, three syllables stressed in the middle.
Is Sukanya a boy or girl name?
Sukanya is used as a girl's name.
How popular is Sukanya?
It has always been rare in the United States, given to only a couple dozen girls a year at its peak in the mid-two-thousands, most often within Indian American families.