Seth
Seth was given to 505 boys in 2025, #581 among boys’ names; 166,288 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 156,000 Americans named Seth and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (94% of everyone recorded); the median is 29 years old and half are between 22 and 40.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Seth by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Seth mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Seth is “a male given name from Hebrew.” Its etymology gives the sense “chosen one, appointed, placed” (literally).
Borrowed from Ancient Greek Σήθ (Sḗth), from Biblical Hebrew שֵׁת (Šet, literally “chosen one, appointed, placed”).
/sɛθ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Seth?
#581 among boys’ names, 2025
Seth fell from #270 in 2015 to #581 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.70 to 0.30 per 1,000.
6,725 babies in 2000, the peak
Seth peaked in 2000, when 6,725 babies were given it (6,717 boys, #63 among boys’ names). The 505 births of 2025 are 8% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 505 | #581 | 0.30 |
| 2024 | 535 | #555 | 0.31 |
| 2023 | 562 | #526 | 0.33 |
| 2022 | 651 | #473 | 0.37 |
| 2021 | 607 | #488 | 0.35 |
| 2020 | 688 | #432 | 0.40 |
| 2019 | 831 | #380 | 0.46 |
| 2018 | 860 | #375 | 0.47 |
| 2017 | 1,066 | #320 | 0.58 |
| 2016 | 1,169 | #303 | 0.62 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,351 | #270 | 0.70 |
| 2014 | 1,506 | #250 | 0.78 |
| 2013 | 1,596 | #231 | 0.84 |
| 2012 | 1,815 | #209 | 1.0 |
| 2011 | 2,094 | #184 | 1.1 |
| 2010 | 2,383 | #164 | 1.2 |
| 2009 | 2,945 | #139 | 1.5 |
| 2008 | 3,283 | #128 | 1.6 |
| 2007 | 3,768 | #115 | 1.8 |
| 2006 | 4,328 | #103 | 2.1 |
| 2005 | 4,713 | #91 | 2.4 |
| 2004 | 5,188 | #80 | 2.6 |
| 2003 | 5,256 | #80 | 2.7 |
| 2002 | 5,740 | #72 | 3.0 |
| 2001 | 6,223 | #68 | 3.2 |
| 2000 | 6,717 | #63 | 3.4 |
| 1999 | 6,305 | #65 | 3.3 |
| 1998 | 4,587 | #86 | 2.4 |
| 1997 | 4,043 | #97 | 2.1 |
| 1996 | 3,886 | #103 | 2.1 |
| 1995 | 3,911 | #97 | 2.1 |
| 1994 | 4,135 | #90 | 2.1 |
| 1993 | 4,060 | #93 | 2.1 |
| 1992 | 3,913 | #94 | 2.0 |
| 1991 | 3,812 | #99 | 1.9 |
| 1990 | 3,561 | #102 | 1.7 |
| 1989 | 3,633 | #94 | 1.8 |
| 1988 | 3,493 | #90 | 1.8 |
| 1987 | 3,339 | #89 | 1.8 |
| 1986 | 2,980 | #97 | 1.6 |
| 1985 | 2,821 | #104 | 1.5 |
| 1984 | 2,911 | #99 | 1.6 |
| 1983 | 2,857 | #98 | 1.6 |
| 1982 | 2,908 | #102 | 1.6 |
| 1981 | 3,137 | #95 | 1.8 |
| 1980 | 3,050 | #99 | 1.7 |
| 1979 | 2,840 | #101 | 1.6 |
| 1978 | 2,504 | #106 | 1.5 |
| 1977 | 2,288 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1976 | 2,097 | #128 | 1.3 |
| 1975 | 1,866 | #136 | 1.2 |
| 1974 | 1,410 | #170 | 0.90 |
| 1973 | 1,136 | #196 | 0.73 |
| 1972 | 867 | #244 | 0.53 |
| 1971 | 781 | #271 | 0.44 |
| 1970 | 795 | #269 | 0.43 |
| 1969 | 580 | #319 | 0.32 |
| 1968 | 525 | #333 | 0.30 |
| 1967 | 395 | #379 | 0.23 |
| 1966 | 342 | #409 | 0.19 |
| 1965 | 323 | #431 | 0.17 |
| 1964 | 348 | #429 | 0.17 |
| 1963 | 291 | #462 | 0.14 |
| 1962 | 314 | #447 | 0.15 |
| 1961 | 329 | #443 | 0.15 |
| 1960 | 340 | #436 | 0.16 |
| 1959 | 294 | #467 | 0.14 |
| 1958 | 315 | #443 | 0.15 |
| 1957 | 261 | #484 | 0.12 |
| 1956 | 245 | #487 | 0.12 |
| 1955 | 215 | #504 | 0.10 |
| 1954 | 215 | #494 | 0.11 |
| 1953 | 176 | #537 | 0.09 |
| 1952 | 129 | #620 | 0.07 |
| 1951 | 119 | #647 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 132 | #593 | 0.07 |
| 1949 | 138 | #575 | 0.08 |
| 1948 | 100 | #676 | 0.06 |
| 1947 | 90 | #725 | 0.05 |
| 1946 | 91 | #680 | 0.06 |
| 1945 | 77 | #698 | 0.06 |
| 1944 | 63 | #795 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 84 | #701 | 0.06 |
| 1942 | 82 | #712 | 0.06 |
| 1941 | 70 | #745 | 0.06 |
| 1940 | 57 | #838 | 0.05 |
| 1939 | 61 | #781 | 0.06 |
| 1938 | 65 | #763 | 0.06 |
| 1937 | 60 | #801 | 0.06 |
| 1936 | 52 | #852 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 56 | #842 | 0.05 |
| 1934 | 71 | #728 | 0.07 |
| 1933 | 70 | #731 | 0.07 |
| 1932 | 66 | #785 | 0.06 |
| 1931 | 56 | #854 | 0.05 |
| 1930 | 55 | #908 | 0.05 |
| 1929 | 64 | #813 | 0.06 |
| 1928 | 74 | #750 | 0.07 |
| 1927 | 68 | #809 | 0.06 |
| 1926 | 82 | #707 | 0.07 |
| 1925 | 96 | #653 | 0.09 |
| 1924 | 83 | #729 | 0.07 |
| 1923 | 94 | #663 | 0.09 |
| 1922 | 95 | #664 | 0.09 |
| 1921 | 109 | #607 | 0.10 |
| 1920 | 109 | #603 | 0.10 |
| 1919 | 86 | #672 | 0.09 |
| 1918 | 100 | #616 | 0.10 |
| 1917 | 81 | #667 | 0.09 |
| 1916 | 84 | #639 | 0.09 |
| 1915 | 80 | #651 | 0.09 |
| 1914 | 67 | #621 | 0.10 |
| 1913 | 66 | #536 | 0.13 |
| 1912 | 41 | #667 | 0.10 |
| 1911 | 22 | #686 | 0.10 |
| 1910 | 15 | #815 | 0.08 |
| 1909 | 23 | #556 | 0.14 |
| 1908 | 20 | #579 | 0.13 |
| 1907 | 20 | #553 | 0.14 |
| 1906 | 17 | #582 | 0.13 |
| 1905 | 17 | #589 | 0.13 |
| 1904 | 14 | #640 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 18 | #520 | 0.15 |
| 1902 | 10 | #786 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 15 | #529 | 0.14 |
| 1900 | 27 | #442 | 0.18 |
| 1899 | 11 | #654 | 0.10 |
| 1898 | 14 | #602 | 0.11 |
| 1897 | 19 | #457 | 0.17 |
| 1896 | 11 | #717 | 0.09 |
| 1895 | 18 | #488 | 0.15 |
| 1894 | 14 | #560 | 0.12 |
| 1893 | 15 | #502 | 0.13 |
| 1892 | 29 | #354 | 0.24 |
| 1891 | 22 | #373 | 0.22 |
| 1890 | 15 | #507 | 0.14 |
| 1889 | 27 | #347 | 0.24 |
| 1888 | 30 | #342 | 0.25 |
| 1887 | 18 | #403 | 0.18 |
| 1886 | 23 | #367 | 0.21 |
| 1885 | 34 | #289 | 0.32 |
| 1884 | 21 | #395 | 0.18 |
| 1883 | 26 | #330 | 0.25 |
| 1882 | 31 | #312 | 0.27 |
| 1881 | 35 | #269 | 0.35 |
| 1880 | 25 | #349 | 0.23 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Seth a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Seth has been given almost only to boys: 495 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Seth: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Seth, and how old are they?
156,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 94% of the 166,288 Americans ever recorded as Seth. The median Seth alive today is 29 years old; half are between 22 and 40.
The 2020 Census counted 144,312 people named Seth (263 women and girls, 144,049 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 154,866 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 238 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,900 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 19,800 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 52,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 68,200 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 11,800 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Seth born?
The states with the most babies named Seth are Texas, California and Indiana, with 26% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Indiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 55 | #574 | 0.8× |
| California | 41 | #679 | 0.6× |
| Indiana | 27 | #299 | 1.4× |
| Ohio | 26 | #426 | 1.3× |
| Florida | 25 | #659 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 24 | #438 | 1.1× |
| Virginia | 21 | #387 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 16 | #647 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 15 | #638 | 1.1× |
| Tennessee | 15 | #518 | 1.1× |
Where Seth is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Seth is most over-represented in Vermont: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Seth with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 166,413 babies since 1880, Seth is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 505 of their 505 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Seth
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Seth and names like it
- Compare Seth and SeithBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sSeth peaked in 2000.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Seth since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Seth: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2000The year the most babies were named Seth.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Seth alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with SMost given first.