Seda
A feminine Turkish name of Arabic origin meaning "branch" or "shoot".
Name Census estimates that about 183 living Americans carry the first name Seda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Seda today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Seda births was 1986 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Seda. 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
183
~ 1 in 1,872,975 Americans
Peak year
1986
13 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#17,231
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Seda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Seda from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 56 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Seda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Seda 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 Seda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Seda
The name Seda has its origins in the Turkish language. It is a feminine given name that dates back to the Ottoman Empire period in the 15th to 20th centuries. The name is believed to be derived from the Turkish word "seda," which means "echo" or "sound."
In Ottoman Turkish culture, the name Seda was often associated with beauty, grace, and melodiousness. It was a popular name among the upper classes and nobility of the Ottoman Empire. The name may have been inspired by the idea of a beautiful voice or the echoing of a pleasant sound.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Seda can be found in the Ottoman court records from the 16th century. Seda Sultan, born in 1542, was an Ottoman princess and the daughter of Sultan Selim II. She played a significant role in the Ottoman political and cultural landscape during her lifetime.
Another notable figure with the name Seda was Seda Sayan, a Turkish singer, actress, and television personality born in 1954. She rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s and became a renowned figure in the Turkish entertainment industry.
In the literary world, Seda Nur Karakulak (1972-2022) was a Turkish author and poet known for her works exploring themes of identity, love, and womanhood. Her poetry collection, "Seda," published in 2010, was widely acclaimed.
The name Seda also has a significant presence in the academic realm. Seda Renda (1945-2021) was a renowned Turkish economist and academic who made significant contributions to the field of international trade and economic development.
In the realm of sports, Seda Nur Karakurt (born 1995) is a Turkish volleyball player who has represented her country in international competitions and won numerous accolades, including a gold medal at the 2022 Volleyball Women's Nations League.
While the name Seda has its roots in Turkish culture, it has gained popularity globally and has been adopted by various communities around the world, transcending cultural boundaries and becoming a symbol of beauty, grace, and melodiousness.
People
Seda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Seda 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
Seda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Seda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 183 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Seda 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 1,872,975 US residents.
Is Seda a common name?
We classify Seda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 188 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Seda most popular?
The single biggest year for Seda was 1986, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Seda is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Seda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Seda 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.