Sarafina
Feminine name derived from Arabic meaning "serene, burning"
Name Census estimates that about 687 living Americans carry the first name Sarafina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sarafina today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sarafina births was 1993 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sarafina. 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.
People living today
687
~ 1 in 498,915 Americans
Peak year
1993
44 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,176
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Sarafina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sarafina from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 219 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Sarafina remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sarafina 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 Sarafina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sarafinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Sarafina, while Texas, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sarafina
The name Sarafina is a feminine given name of Italian origin, deriving from the Biblical name Seraphina. The earliest known usage of the name can be traced back to the late 15th century in Italy.
Seraphina, the root name, comes from the Hebrew word "seraphim," which refers to the highest-ranking celestial beings in the Christian angelic hierarchy. The name was likely inspired by the six-winged seraphim described in the Book of Isaiah in the Bible.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Serafina Sforza, an Italian noblewoman born in 1472. She was the daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, and played a significant role in the political and cultural life of the Italian Renaissance.
Another notable historical figure with this name was Serafina Cretoni, an Italian painter who lived in the 16th century. She was one of the few female artists of her time to achieve recognition and success in the male-dominated art world.
In the 17th century, Serafina di Dio Felice, an Italian mystic and nun, was known for her visions and spiritual writings. She was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1768.
Sarafina Amorosia, born in 1619, was an Italian singer and composer who gained fame for her performances in the Baroque era. She was particularly renowned for her skill in improvising vocal ornamentation.
In more recent times, Sarafina! was the name of a popular musical set in South Africa during the apartheid era. It was first performed in 1986 and brought international attention to the struggles of black South Africans under the oppressive regime.
While the name Sarafina has been primarily associated with Italian and European history, its angelic origins and melodic sound have contributed to its use in various cultures around the world.
People
Sarafina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sarafina 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
Sarafina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sarafina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 687 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sarafina 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 498,915 US residents.
Is Sarafina a common name?
We classify Sarafina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 734 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sarafina most popular?
The single biggest year for Sarafina was 1993, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sarafina is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sarafina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sarafina 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.
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.