Sultan is the Arabic word for "ruler" or "sovereign", from a root meaning power and authority, and it served for centuries as the title of Muslim monarchs from Morocco to the Ottoman Empire. As a given name it is common in Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Arab world. In the United States Sultan has crept up from number 3,744 in 2000 to number 1,243 in 2025, its best rank so far.