Sekanii
A modern invented name of unknown meaning or origin.
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Sekanii. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sekanii today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sekanii births was 2019 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sekanii. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sekanii. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2019
7 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,857
Tracked since 2019
Popularity
Sekanii: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sekanii from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 7 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sekanii remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sekanii 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 Sekanii 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 Sekanii
The name Sekanii is believed to have originated from the Māori language of New Zealand. The earliest known use of the name dates back to the 15th century, when it was used as a name for children born during the summer months. Sekanii is derived from the Māori word "sekana," which means "warmth" or "sunshine," reflecting the name's association with the warm summer season.
In traditional Māori culture, names often carried significant meaning and were chosen to reflect the circumstances surrounding a child's birth or to honor important events or ancestors. The name Sekanii was likely given to children born during the warmer months as a way to celebrate the warmth and abundance of the summer season.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that the name was used in oral traditions and storytelling within Māori communities.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Sekanii can be found in the genealogical records of the Ngāti Whātua iwi (tribe) from the Auckland region of New Zealand. In these records, a chief named Sekanii is mentioned as having lived in the late 16th century.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who bore the name Sekanii. One such person was Sekanii Te Rangi-kā-hihi, a Māori leader and warrior who lived in the early 19th century and played a significant role in the Musket Wars between various iwi.
Another notable figure was Sekanii Harawira, a Māori activist and leader of the Mātua Whāngai movement, which advocated for the rights of Māori children and families in the 1970s and 1980s.
In the field of Māori art and culture, Sekanii Mita was a renowned weaver and artist who helped revive traditional Māori weaving techniques in the late 20th century.
Sekanii Heke was a Māori composer and musician who gained recognition for his contributions to the preservation and promotion of traditional Māori music in the early 20th century.
Finally, Sekanii Waititi was a Māori academic and author who wrote extensively on Māori history, language, and culture in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
People
Sekanii + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sekanii 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
Sekanii: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sekanii?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sekanii 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Sekanii a common name?
We classify Sekanii as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sekanii most popular?
The single biggest year for Sekanii was 2019, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sekanii is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Sekanii in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sekanii a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sekanii 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 Sekanii still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sekanii 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 Sekanii 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Sekanii?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.