September
The seventh month of the Gregorian calendar, derived from the Latin "septem" meaning seven.
Name Census estimates that about 2,039 living Americans carry the first name September. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named September today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of September births was 1980 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for September. 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.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 168,099 Americans
Peak year
1980
51 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,913
Tracked since 1955
Popularity
September: popularity over time
The SSA tracks September from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 402 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, September remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
September 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 September during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Septembers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Ohio, Illinois recorded the most babies named September, while North Carolina, Georgia, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of September
September is an English name derived from the Latin word "September", which was originally the seventh month of the Roman calendar. The name likely emerged as a given name in the late medieval or Renaissance period, as the concept of naming children after months became more common.
The Roman calendar originally consisted of ten months, with September being the seventh month. The name comes from the Latin word "septem", meaning seven, and "mensis", meaning month. When the Roman calendar was reformed to include twelve months, September became the ninth month.
The earliest recorded use of September as a given name is difficult to pinpoint, but it is believed to have been used sporadically throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance period in Europe. One of the earliest documented instances is that of September Penn, an English Quaker born in 1644.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the first name September. One of the most famous was September Streeter, an American author and poet born in 1891 who wrote extensively about the natural world and was a prominent figure in the literary circles of the early 20th century.
Another notable September was September Smith, a British suffragette and activist born in 1851 who played a key role in the women's suffrage movement in the United Kingdom. She was a prominent speaker and organizer, advocating for women's right to vote.
In the realm of politics, September Weddell was a Canadian politician born in 1860 who served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1896 to 1904, representing the riding of St. John.
September Jarvis, born in 1785, was an American painter and artist known for her portraits and landscapes. Her works are part of the collections of several museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Lastly, September Dudley was an English composer and musician born in 1715 who was a prominent figure in the classical music scene of the 18th century. He composed operas, oratorios, and instrumental works, and was highly regarded in his time.
People
September + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with September 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
September: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named September?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,039 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for September 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 168,099 US residents.
Is September a common name?
We classify September as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,182 babies have been registered with this name.
When was September most popular?
The single biggest year for September was 1980, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living September is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is September a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as September 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.
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.