Seoul
An East Asian name meaning "capital city", derived from the Korean word "sŏul".
Name Census estimates that about 19 living Americans carry the first name Seoul. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 52.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Seoul today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Seoul births was 2024 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Seoul. 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 Seoul. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
19
~ 1 in 18,039,702 Americans
Peak year
2024
9 babies that year
Average age
3
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,825
Tracked since 2022
Gender
Gender distribution for Seoul
Seoul is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 19 total registrations, 9 (47.4%) were male and 10 (52.6%) were female.
Seoul as a male name
- Ranked #8,825 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (9 births)
Seoul as a female name
- Ranked #17,214 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2022 (5 births)
Popularity
Seoul: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Seoul 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 Seoul during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 9 | 10 | 19 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Seoul
The name Seoul is derived from the Korean language, originating from the capital city of South Korea. It is believed to have its roots in the ancient kingdom of Baekje, which ruled the region from the 3rd to the 7th century CE. The name is thought to have evolved from the word "Seorabeol," which referred to the location's topography, surrounded by mountains and rivers.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Seoul can be traced back to the Samguk Sagi, a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, written in the 12th century. This text describes the founding of the city, then known as Hanyang, by the Baekje kingdom in the 18th year of King Munmu's reign (around 668 CE).
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Seoul. One of the earliest was Seoul Wonhyo (617-686 CE), a renowned Buddhist monk and scholar during the Silla Kingdom. His philosophical writings and commentaries on Buddhist texts had a significant influence on Korean Buddhism.
In the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392 CE), Seoul Uichon (1055-1101 CE) was a revered Confucian scholar and diplomat who served as a royal tutor and played a crucial role in establishing Confucianism as the state ideology.
During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897 CE), Seoul Hwang Hui (1363-1452 CE) was a prominent Neo-Confucian scholar and philosopher who contributed to the development of Korean Confucian thought and served as a royal advisor.
In more recent times, Seoul Jo Myong-rok (1888-1926) was a prominent independence activist and journalist who fought against Japanese colonial rule in Korea in the early 20th century.
Another notable figure was Seoul Park Chung-hee (1917-1979), a former president of South Korea who played a significant role in the country's economic development and industrialization during the 1960s and 1970s.
While the name Seoul is primarily associated with the capital city of South Korea, its origin and historical significance reflect the rich cultural heritage and the influential figures who have shaped the nation's identity throughout the centuries.
People
Seoul + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Seoul 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
Seoul: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Seoul?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 19 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Seoul 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 18,039,702 US residents.
Is Seoul a common name?
We classify Seoul as "Very Rare". It ranks above 39.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 19 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Seoul most popular?
The single biggest year for Seoul was 2024, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Seoul is about 3 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 Seoul in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Seoul a female name?
Yes, 52.6% of people registered as Seoul in the SSA data are female. 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 Seoul still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Seoul 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 Seoul 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 have the name Seoul?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.