Senan
An Irish name meaning "old" or "little old man".
Name Census estimates that about 129 living Americans carry the first name Senan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Senan today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Senan births was 2018 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Senan. 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 Senan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
129
~ 1 in 2,657,010 Americans
Peak year
2018
12 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,703
Tracked since 2001
Census
Senan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 250 people with the first name Senan, which placed it at #33,212 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
#33,212
National first-name rank
People counted
250
250 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Senan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Senan is White at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Two or More Races (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 Senan 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 Senan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.0% · 190
- Black or African American9.2% · 23
- Two or more races7.2% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.4% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 3
Popularity
Senan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Senan from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 74 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Senan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Senan 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 Senan 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 Senan
The name Senan is of Irish origin and has its roots in the Gaelic language. It is derived from the word "sean," which means "old" or "ancient." The name can be traced back to the 5th and 6th centuries, during the early Christian era in Ireland.
Senan is closely associated with Saint Senán, a prominent Irish monastic saint who lived in the 6th century. He founded several monasteries, including the famous Scattery Island monastery in County Clare. The name gained widespread popularity due to the veneration of this saint, and it was adopted by many Irish families as a way to honor him.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Senan can be found in the ancient Irish text, the "Annals of Inisfallen," which dates back to the 11th century. This text chronicles the lives of various Irish saints and includes references to individuals named Senan.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Senan. One of the most famous was Senan O'Murchadha (c. 1070 - c. 1130), an Irish cleric and poet who served as the Bishop of Lismore in County Waterford. Another prominent figure was Senan O'Fallon (c. 1490 - c. 1560), an Irish chieftain and leader of the O'Fallon clan in County Roscommon.
In the 17th century, Senan MacDonnell (c. 1610 - c. 1680) was a notable Irish soldier and landowner who fought for the Confederacy during the Irish Confederate Wars. He was later involved in the Jacobite risings in Scotland.
During the 19th century, Senan Cleary (1823 - 1901) was an Irish journalist and editor who played a significant role in the Irish nationalist movement. He founded and edited several newspapers, including "The Irish Monthly" and "The Irish Literary Gazette."
Another noteworthy figure was Senan Kilcullen (1890 - 1973), an Irish politician and member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He participated in the Irish War of Independence and later served as a member of the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann) for many years.
While the name Senan has its roots in ancient Irish history and tradition, it continues to be used in modern times, reflecting the enduring connection to Ireland's rich cultural heritage.
People
Senan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Senan 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
Senan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Senan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 129 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Senan 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 2,657,010 US residents.
Is Senan a common name?
We classify Senan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 130 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Senan most popular?
The single biggest year for Senan was 2018, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Senan 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 Senan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 250 people with the name Senan, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,212 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 Senan 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 Senan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Senan leans strongly male. 225 people counted with this name were male (88.2%), compared with 30 female bearers (11.8%). 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 Senan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Senan is White at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Two or More Races (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 Senan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Senan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.0% (190 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 Senan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Senan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Senan 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 Senan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Senan 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 Senan 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 common is the name Senan?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Senan at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.