UK boy's name
Sruly
A Yiddish diminutive of the Hebrew name Yisroel, meaning "one who wrestles with God".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2023. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Sruly is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Sruly popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2023 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4991, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2021, with 7 births.
This profile covers 23 England and Wales registrations across 5 recorded years from 2010 to 2023. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 43% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 23 living people in the UK are called Sruly. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2024 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Sruly ranked #4991 for boys in England and Wales in 2023, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2021, when 7 boys were registered as Sruly.
- • About 23 living people in the UK are estimated to have Sruly as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4991
2023
Births in 2023
3
Latest year
Peak year
2021
7 births
Estimated living
23
2026
Meaning
What does Sruly mean?
The given name Sruly is a diminutive or nickname form of the Hebrew name Yisroel, which itself is derived from the biblical name Yisra'el. The name Yisra'el comes from the Hebrew words "sarah" meaning "to struggle" and "el" meaning "God". It originated as the name given to the biblical patriarch Jacob after he wrestled with an angel of God.
The name Sruly first appeared in the Middle Ages among Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe. It was a common nickname used for boys named Yisroel, similar to how "Charlie" is used as a nickname for "Charles" in English. The popularity of the name Sruly reflected the widespread use of Hebrew names among Jews during this time period.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Sruly can be found in the 16th century writings of Rabbi Moshe Isserles, a prominent Jewish scholar and authority on Jewish law. He refers to a contemporary named "Sruly ben Avraham", indicating the name was in use by at least the 1500s.
In the 17th century, there was a famous Kabbalist and rabbinical scholar named Sruly Maharam Schick (1619-1679) who lived in Poland. His full name was Yisroel Moshe ben Shmuel Yehudah Leib.
Another notable person named Sruly was Sruly Huberman (1828-1888), a Polish-born Hebrew writer and educator who lived in Russia. He published several works on Hebrew grammar and language instruction.
In the 20th century, Sruly Rubin (1904-1985) was a prominent American Hasidic rabbi and leader of the Bobov Hasidic dynasty. He was born in Galicia and immigrated to the United States in the 1920s.
More recently, Sruly Eidelman (born 1958) is an Israeli-American film composer known for his work on movies like The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Aviator. He has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards for his film scores.
While less common today, the name Sruly continues to be used occasionally among Ashkenazi Jewish communities, particularly those with roots in Central and Eastern Europe. It reflects the long history and cultural traditions of Hebrew names within the Jewish diaspora.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Sruly over time
The chart below shows babies named Sruly registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2010 to 2023. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Sruly, the clearest high point is 2021. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2023, compared with 7 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sruly by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Sruly was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #3856 | 14 | 3 |
| 2010s | #3841 | 9 | 2 |
Related
Names similar to Sruly
- Samuel 108,505
- Sebastian 33,008
- Sam 20,889
- Stanley 16,354
- Sonny 15,028
- Sean 15,006
- Scott 12,587
- Seth 9,841
- Syed 9,050
- Stephen 8,884
- Spencer 8,333
- Steven 6,970
FAQ
Sruly: questions and answers
How popular is the name Sruly in the UK right now?
In 2023, Sruly was ranked #4991 for boys in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Sruly most popular?
The peak year on record was 2021, with 7 babies registered as Sruly in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Sruly?
A Yiddish diminutive of the Hebrew name Yisroel, meaning "one who wrestles with God".
How many people are called Sruly in the UK?
A total of 23 babies have been registered as Sruly across the 5 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.