Sepp
A German masculine diminutive of the name Joseph, meaning "he will increase".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Sepp. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sepp today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sepp births was 2012 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sepp. 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 Sepp. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2012
5 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2012 SSA rank
#13,875
Tracked since 2012
Popularity
Sepp: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Sepp 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 Sepp during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Sepp
The given name Sepp is a German diminutive form of the name Joseph, which has its roots in the Hebrew name Yosef. Joseph was a figure in the biblical Book of Genesis, who became a powerful figure in Egypt after interpreting Pharaoh's dreams. The name Joseph means "he will add" or "he will increase" in Hebrew.
The name Sepp was particularly popular in Bavaria, a region in southern Germany. It was commonly used as a diminutive form of Joseph, often to distinguish between multiple people named Joseph in a community. The earliest recorded use of the name Sepp dates back to the 16th century in Bavaria.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Sepp was Sepp Bierbichler, a German actor born in 1948. He is known for his roles in films such as "The Tin Drum" and "Rossini." Another notable individual was Sepp Herberger, a German football player and manager who led the national team to victory in the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
Sepp Maier, born in 1944, was a German footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Bayern Munich and the West German national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of German football. Sepp Blatter, born in 1936, was a Swiss football administrator who served as the president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015.
Sepp Innerkofler, born in 1958, is an Austrian mountaineer and mountain guide. He is known for his numerous ascents of some of the world's most challenging peaks, including Mount Everest and K2. His accomplishments have earned him a reputation as one of the greatest high-altitude mountaineers of his generation.
While the name Sepp has its origins in Germany and Bavaria, it has also been used in other German-speaking regions, such as Austria and Switzerland. However, its usage has been more limited outside of these areas, as it is primarily a diminutive form of the more widely used name Joseph.
People
Sepp + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sepp 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
Sepp: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sepp?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sepp 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Sepp a common name?
We classify Sepp as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sepp most popular?
The single biggest year for Sepp was 2012, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sepp is about 14 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 Sepp in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sepp a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sepp 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 Sepp still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sepp 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 Sepp 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 Sepp?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.