Seattle
A placename derived from the Native American word for "inland" or "great town".
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the first name Seattle. It is a predominantly female name (96.2% of registrations). The average person named Seattle today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Seattle births was 1999 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Seattle. 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
130
~ 1 in 2,636,572 Americans
Peak year
1999
14 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
1999 SSA rank
#11,317
Tracked since 1994
Census
Seattle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 200 people with the first name Seattle, which placed it at #38,397 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
#38,397
National first-name rank
People counted
200
200 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seattle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seattle is White at 54.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.0%) and Black (12.0%). 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 Seattle 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 Seattle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.5% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino15.0% · 30
- Black or African American12.0% · 24
- Two or more races9.0% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.0% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.5% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Seattle
Seattle leans heavily female at 96.2% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Seattle as a male name
- Ranked #11,317 in 1999
- 5 male births in 1999
- Peak: 1999 (5 births)
Seattle as a female name
- Ranked #17,230 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Seattle on both sides of the split. Of the 196 people counted with this name, 51 were male (26.0%) and 145 were female (74.0%).
Popularity
Seattle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Seattle from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 52 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Seattle remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Seattle 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 Seattle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Seattles live
Origin
Meaning and history of Seattle
The given name Seattle does not appear to have a direct etymological origin or historical usage as a personal name. It is more likely that the name is derived from the city of Seattle, Washington, which itself has a Native American origin.
The name Seattle is believed to be an anglicized version of the Lushootseed Native American word "Sealth," which referred to a renowned leader and warrior of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Sealth, also known as Chief Seattle, was an influential figure in the Pacific Northwest region and played a significant role in establishing peaceful relations between Native Americans and European settlers.
The city of Seattle was named after Chief Seattle in 1853, honoring his legacy and the indigenous history of the area. However, the name Seattle does not appear to have been widely used as a personal name until more recent times, likely influenced by the popularity and recognition of the city itself.
While there are no recorded instances of individuals named Seattle in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to the 19th century, the name has gained some prominence in modern times, particularly in the United States. A few notable individuals who have been given the name Seattle include:
1. Seattle Kamikamica, a Fijian rugby union player born in 1994.
2. Seattle Slew, an American Thoroughbred racehorse born in 1974, who won the Triple Crown in 1977.
3. Seattle Jrs, a Canadian professional wrestler born in 1981, known for his work in Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling.
4. Seattle Studdert, a South African rugby union player born in 1988.
5. Seattle Sutton, an American professional wrestler born in 1978.
It is worth noting that the name Seattle, while derived from Native American roots, has gained popularity and usage primarily in the modern era, likely influenced by the city's reputation and recognition on a global scale.
People
Seattle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Seattle 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
Seattle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Seattle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 130 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Seattle 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 2,636,572 US residents.
Is Seattle a common name?
We classify Seattle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 132 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Seattle most popular?
The single biggest year for Seattle was 1999, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Seattle is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Seattle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 200 people with the name Seattle, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,397 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 Seattle 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 Seattle?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Seattle on both sides of the split. Of the 196 people counted with this name, 51 were male (26.0%) and 145 were female (74.0%). 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 Seattle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seattle is White at 54.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.0%) and Black (12.0%). 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 Seattle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Seattle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.5% (109 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 Seattle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Seattle a female name?
Yes, 96.2% of people registered as Seattle 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 Seattle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Seattle 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 Seattle 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 many people have Seattle as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.