Seif
An Arabic masculine name meaning "sword" or "blade".
Name Census estimates that about 258 living Americans carry the first name Seif. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Seif today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Seif births was 2014 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Seif. 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 Seif with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
258
~ 1 in 1,328,505 Americans
Peak year
2014
16 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,076
Tracked since 1998
Census
Seif in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 420 people with the first name Seif, which placed it at #23,335 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
#23,335
National first-name rank
People counted
420
420 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seif
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seif is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Seif 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 Seif at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 335
- Black or African American10.5% · 44
- Two or more races4.0% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Seif: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Seif from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 113 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Seif remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Seif 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 Seif during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Seifs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Seif
The name Seif originates from the Arabic language and has its roots in the Arabic word "sayf," which means sword. This name has been in use in the Arab world for centuries and has a strong historical and cultural significance.
In the early days of Islam, the sword was a symbol of power, strength, and courage. Warriors and soldiers who wielded swords with skill and bravery were often given the name Seif as a mark of respect and honor. The name was also associated with the concept of justice, as the sword was seen as a tool to uphold justice and protect the innocent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Seif can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. The name appears in the context of a sword being used as a metaphor for the word of God, which is described as a sharp and powerful tool to separate truth from falsehood.
Throughout Islamic history, several prominent figures have borne the name Seif. One of the most notable was Seif al-Din Qalawun, a Mamluk Sultan who ruled Egypt and Syria in the 13th century (1279-1290). He was renowned for his military prowess and his efforts to strengthen the Mamluk Sultanate against the Crusaders and Mongol invaders.
Another famous bearer of the name was Seif al-Din al-Amidi, an influential Islamic scholar and philosopher who lived in the 12th century (1156-1233). He made significant contributions to the field of logic and was known for his work on the principles of jurisprudence.
In the realm of literature, Seif al-Din al-Hafiz, a 13th-century Persian poet (1201-1283), was renowned for his lyrical poetry and his mastery of the ghazal form. His poems often celebrated love, wine, and the beauty of nature.
During the Crusades, Seif al-Din al-Masudi (1139-1193) was a prominent military commander who led Muslim forces against the Crusaders in the Levant. He played a crucial role in the defense of Aleppo and was renowned for his strategic military tactics.
In more recent times, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi (born in 1972), the second son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, gained notoriety for his involvement in the Libyan civil war and his eventual capture and imprisonment after the fall of his father's regime.
Overall, the name Seif has a rich and diverse history, spanning various fields such as religion, philosophy, literature, and military affairs. Its association with the sword and its symbolism of power, courage, and justice have made it a revered name in the Arab and Islamic world for centuries.
People
Seif + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Seif 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
Seif: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Seif?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 258 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Seif 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 1,328,505 US residents.
Is Seif a common name?
We classify Seif as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 260 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Seif most popular?
The single biggest year for Seif was 2014, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Seif is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Seif in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 420 people with the name Seif, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,335 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 Seif 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 Seif?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Seif appears almost entirely male. Of the 413 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Seif?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seif is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Seif most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Seif in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (335 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 Seif in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Seif a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Seif in the SSA data are male. 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 Seif still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Seif 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 Seif 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 Seif as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Seif on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.