Sekai
A gender-neutral Japanese name meaning "world" or "universe".
Name Census estimates that about 306 living Americans carry the first name Sekai. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 73.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Sekai today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sekai births was 2023 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sekai. 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
306
~ 1 in 1,120,112 Americans
Peak year
2023
47 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,311
Tracked since 2000
Census
Sekai in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 236 people with the first name Sekai, which placed it at #34,545 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
#34,545
National first-name rank
People counted
236
236 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
69.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sekai
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sekai is Black at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (13.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Sekai 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 Sekai at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.5% · 164
- Two or more races13.1% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.2% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 14
- White3.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Sekai
Sekai is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 309 total registrations, 227 (73.5%) were male and 82 (26.5%) were female.
Sekai as a male name
- Ranked #3,311 in 2024
- 36 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (41 births)
Sekai as a female name
- Ranked #14,880 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2006 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sekai on both sides of the split. Of the 238 people counted with this name, 131 were male (55.0%) and 107 were female (45.0%).
Popularity
Sekai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sekai from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 147 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sekai 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 Sekai 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 Sekai
The given name Sekai originates from the Japanese language. It is believed to have been derived from the word "sekai" itself, which translates to "world" or "universe" in English. The name carries a deep and profound meaning, symbolizing the vastness and boundless nature of the cosmos.
In Japanese culture, names often hold significant meaning and are carefully chosen to reflect the hopes, aspirations, and values of the parents for their child. The name Sekai is no exception, as it conveys a sense of expansiveness, exploration, and a desire to embrace the world in its entirety.
While the exact origins of the name Sekai are not well-documented, it is thought to have been in use for several centuries. It may have been inspired by the Japanese Buddhist tradition, where the concept of the "world" or "universe" holds great significance as a representation of the interconnectedness of all things.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Sekai was Sekai Kamiya, a renowned Japanese painter who lived during the Edo period (1603-1868). His intricate and detailed paintings often depicted scenes from nature, capturing the beauty and intricacies of the natural world.
Another notable figure was Sekai Noro, a Japanese philosopher and writer who lived in the late 19th century. Noro's works explored themes of spirituality, ethics, and the human condition, reflecting the philosophical depth inherent in the name Sekai.
In the realm of literature, Sekai Tsushima was a celebrated Japanese author known for her poignant and insightful novels exploring the complexities of human relationships and societal issues. Her works, such as "Woman Running in the Mountains" (1980), garnered critical acclaim and shed light on the experiences of women in modern Japanese society.
Moving into the 20th century, Sekai Higashida was a prominent Japanese architect who made significant contributions to the field of sustainable and environmentally conscious design. His buildings seamlessly integrated with their natural surroundings, reflecting the name Sekai's connection to the world and the importance of harmony with the environment.
More recently, Sekai Nakano became a renowned figure in the world of Japanese animation and manga. As a voice actor and singer, Nakano lent her talents to numerous beloved anime series and contributed to the growth and popularity of Japanese pop culture on a global scale.
Throughout history, the name Sekai has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, each leaving their mark on the world in their own unique way. Whether through artistic expression, philosophical contemplation, literary works, architectural endeavors, or cultural contributions, the name Sekai has been imbued with a sense of wonder, exploration, and a desire to understand and appreciate the world in its entirety.
People
Sekai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sekai 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
Sekai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sekai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 306 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sekai 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 1,120,112 US residents.
Is Sekai a common name?
We classify Sekai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 309 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sekai most popular?
The single biggest year for Sekai was 2023, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sekai is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sekai in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 236 people with the name Sekai, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,545 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 Sekai 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 Sekai?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sekai on both sides of the split. Of the 238 people counted with this name, 131 were male (55.0%) and 107 were female (45.0%). 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 Sekai?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sekai is Black at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (13.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Sekai most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sekai in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.5% (164 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 Sekai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sekai a male name?
Yes, 73.5% of people registered as Sekai 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 Sekai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sekai 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 Sekai 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 Sekai?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Sekai, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.