Suede is an English word name for the soft, napped leather; the word comes from the French gants de Suède, "gloves of Sweden", so at its root the name simply means "Sweden". It belongs to the newest wave of texture and material names, alongside Denim, that American parents began to use in the 2020s. Suede was virtually unknown before 2018 and has climbed quickly to number 1561 among boys' names in 2025, its best rank so far.