Saida
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "happy" or "fortunate".
Name Census estimates that about 1,194 living Americans carry the first name Saida. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Saida today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Saida births was 2008 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Saida. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Saida with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 287,064 Americans
Peak year
2008
42 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,742
Tracked since 1953
Census
Saida in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,205 people with the first name Saida, which placed it at #5,375 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,375
National first-name rank
People counted
3.2K
3,205 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
48.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saida
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Saida is Hispanic at 48.9%. The next largest groups are White (23.2%) and Black (14.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Saida described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Saida at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino48.9% · 1,566
- White23.2% · 744
- Black or African American14.9% · 477
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.9% · 286
- Two or more races4.0% · 129
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Saida: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Saida from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 332 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Saida remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Saida by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Saida during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Saidas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Saida, while Ohio, Florida, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 65 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Saida
The name Saida has its origins in Arabic, derived from the word "sa'ida" which means "fortunate" or "happy." It is a feminine name that has been in use for centuries across various regions of the Middle East and North Africa.
In the early Islamic era, the name Saida gained popularity as it was associated with the concept of happiness and blessings. It was often given to newborn daughters as a symbol of joy and good fortune. The name can be found in historical records and literature from this period, reflecting its cultural significance.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Saida dates back to the 9th century, when a renowned Islamic scholar and poet, Saida bint al-Husayn al-Khuzai, lived in Basra, Iraq. She was known for her expertise in Arabic literature and her contributions to the field of poetry.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Saida. In the 12th century, Saida al-Hurra was a prominent figure in the Almoravid dynasty, ruling over parts of modern-day Morocco and Spain. She was known for her leadership skills and military prowess.
Moving to the 19th century, Saida Lutfullah was an influential Egyptian writer and activist who advocated for women's rights and education. She played a significant role in the Egyptian feminist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the realm of arts and literature, Saida Gerritse was a Dutch painter and illustrator who lived from 1871 to 1949. She was renowned for her vibrant depictions of landscapes and still-life scenes, capturing the beauty of the natural world.
Another notable figure was Saida Menon, an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer who lived from 1912 to 1972. She actively participated in the Indian independence movement and worked tirelessly to uplift the status of women in society.
Throughout its history, the name Saida has been imbued with a sense of joy, fortune, and cultural significance, transcending borders and inspiring generations of women across various regions and backgrounds.
People
Saida + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Saida as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Saida: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Saida?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,194 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Saida going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 287,064 US residents.
Is Saida a common name?
We classify Saida as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,243 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Saida most popular?
The single biggest year for Saida was 2008, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Saida is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Saida in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,205 people with the name Saida, or 1.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,375 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Saida in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Saida?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Saida appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,204 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Saida?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Saida is Hispanic at 48.9%. The next largest groups are White (23.2%) and Black (14.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Saida most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Saida in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.9% (1,566 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Saida in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Saida a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Saida in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Saida still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Saida in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Saida can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Saida?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.