Seema
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "the horizon" or "boundary".
Name Census estimates that about 1,114 living Americans carry the first name Seema. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Seema today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Seema births was 1981 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Seema. 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 Seema with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 307,679 Americans
Peak year
1981
56 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,421
Tracked since 1966
Census
Seema in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,153 people with the first name Seema, which placed it at #3,831 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
#3,831
National first-name rank
People counted
5.2K
5,153 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seema
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seema is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.1%. The next largest groups are White (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Seema 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 Seema at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.1% · 4,643
- White5.6% · 289
- Two or more races2.2% · 113
- Black or African American1.3% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 16
Popularity
Seema: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Seema from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 362 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Seema 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 Seema during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Seemas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Seema, while Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 43 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Seema
The name Seema is derived from the Sanskrit language, originating from ancient India. It is believed to have roots dating back to the Vedic period, around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. The name Seema holds a poetic and symbolic meaning, often interpreted as "the boundary" or "the limit."
In ancient Sanskrit texts, the word "seema" was used to refer to the lines or boundaries that demarcated territories, fields, or sacred spaces. This concept held significant importance in Vedic rituals and customs, where boundaries were revered and their sanctity was upheld.
One of the earliest known references to the name Seema can be found in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. In this vast literary work, there are mentions of a character named Seema, though her role and significance remain uncertain.
Throughout history, the name Seema has been borne by several notable figures. One of the most prominent was Seema Verma, an Indian-American health policy consultant and government official. She served as the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2017 to 2021.
Another renowned individual with the name Seema was Seema Mustafa, an Indian journalist and political commentator. She is the founder and editor of The Citizen, an online news platform known for its investigative journalism and independent reporting.
In the realm of literature, Seema Purevdorj is a celebrated Mongolian writer and poet. Her works have been widely acclaimed for their vivid portrayal of Mongolian culture and traditions.
The name Seema has also graced the world of sports. Seema Antil is a former Indian discus thrower who competed in multiple Olympic Games and won numerous medals at international events, including a gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Seema Biswas, an Indian actress, has made a significant impact in both Indian and international cinema. She is renowned for her powerful performances in films such as Bandit Queen, Khamoshi: The Musical, and Water, among others.
While the name Seema has its roots in ancient Sanskrit, it has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries, finding resonance in various parts of the world, particularly in South Asia and among the Indian diaspora.
People
Seema + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Seema 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
Seema: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Seema?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,114 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Seema 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 307,679 US residents.
Is Seema a common name?
We classify Seema as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,183 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Seema most popular?
The single biggest year for Seema was 1981, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Seema is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Seema in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,153 people with the name Seema, or 1.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,831 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 Seema 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 Seema?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Seema appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,150 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Seema?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seema is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.1%. The next largest groups are White (5.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Seema most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Seema in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (4,643 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 Seema in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Seema a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Seema 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 Seema still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Seema 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 Seema 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 the name Seema?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Seema, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.