Sekou
A masculine name of Malian origin meaning "horse, warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 1,054 living Americans carry the first name Sekou. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sekou today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sekou births was 2011 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sekou. 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 Sekou with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 325,194 Americans
Peak year
2011
38 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,526
Tracked since 1970
Census
Sekou in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,276 people with the first name Sekou, which placed it at #10,449 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
#10,449
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,276 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sekou
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sekou is Black at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (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 Sekou 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 Sekou at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.1% · 1,163
- Two or more races4.2% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 28
- White1.8% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Sekou: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sekou from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 274 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sekou remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sekou 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 Sekou during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sekous live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Sekou, while New Jersey, Georgia, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 73 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sekou
The name Sekou originates from West Africa, particularly among the Malinke people of Mali and Guinea. It is derived from the Mandinka word "seku," which means "griot" or "storyteller/praise singer." The name has been in use for centuries and is deeply rooted in the oral traditions and cultural heritage of the region.
Historically, griots played a vital role in preserving and transmitting the histories, genealogies, and cultural values of their communities through storytelling, music, and poetry. As such, the name Sekou has been associated with individuals who have excelled in these art forms and served as custodians of their people's cultural legacy.
One of the earliest and most notable figures bearing the name Sekou is Sekou Toure, a Guinean political leader and revolutionary who played a pivotal role in Guinea's struggle for independence from French colonial rule. Born in 1922, Sekou Toure became the first President of Guinea in 1958 and remained in power until his death in 1984.
Another prominent individual with the name Sekou is Sekou Sundiata, an American poet, and professor born in 1948. He is renowned for his contributions to the field of African American literature and his works that explore themes of identity, history, and cultural traditions.
In the realm of music, Sekou Bembeya Diabate, a Guinean singer and griot, was a celebrated figure who helped popularize the traditional music of the Malinke people on a global scale. Born in 1946, he was widely regarded as one of the greatest vocalists and ambassadors of Malinke culture until his passing in 2015.
Sekou Dioubate, a Malian griot and kora player born in 1948, is another notable figure who has dedicated his life to preserving and promoting the rich musical traditions of West Africa. His performances and teachings have earned him widespread recognition and accolades.
The name Sekou has also been carried by Sekou Camara, a Guinean writer and historian born in 1935. He is renowned for his literary works that explore the history, culture, and struggles of his people, as well as his efforts to promote and preserve the cultural heritage of Guinea.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Sekou throughout history, each leaving a lasting impact in their respective fields and contributing to the preservation and celebration of the cultural traditions from which the name originated.
People
Sekou + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sekou 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
Sekou: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sekou?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,054 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sekou 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 325,194 US residents.
Is Sekou a common name?
We classify Sekou as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,083 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sekou most popular?
The single biggest year for Sekou was 2011, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sekou is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sekou in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,276 people with the name Sekou, or 0.42 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,449 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 Sekou 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 Sekou?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sekou appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,273 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Sekou?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sekou is Black at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (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 Sekou most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sekou in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (1,163 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 Sekou in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sekou a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sekou 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 Sekou still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sekou 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 Sekou 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 Sekou as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Sekou on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.