Serafino
A masculine name of Italian origin meaning "ardent" or "burning one".
Name Census estimates that about 41 living Americans carry the first name Serafino. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Serafino today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Serafino births was 1915 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Serafino. 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 Serafino. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
41
~ 1 in 8,359,862 Americans
Peak year
1915
15 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,617
Tracked since 1912
Census
Serafino in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 249 people with the first name Serafino, which placed it at #33,298 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
#33,298
National first-name rank
People counted
249
249 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Serafino
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Serafino is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Serafino 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 Serafino at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.3% · 205
- Hispanic or Latino8.8% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 7
- Two or more races2.4% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 5
- Black or African American1.6% · 4
Popularity
Serafino: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Serafino from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 104 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Serafino 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 Serafino during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Serafinos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Serafino, while New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Serafino
The name Serafino has its roots in the Italian language and culture, originating from the Late Latin word "seraphinus," which itself is derived from the Hebrew word "seraphim." The seraphim were a class of celestial beings or angels described in the biblical Book of Isaiah as having six wings and attending upon God.
The name Serafino gained popularity in Italy during the Renaissance period, a time of great cultural flourishing and renewed interest in classical literature and art. It was often given to children as a reflection of the parents' religious devotion and as a way to invoke divine protection.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Serafino dates back to the 13th century, when it was borne by Serafino Bambacari, an Italian jurist and statesman from the city of Bologna. In the 15th century, the name was further popularized by the Italian painter Serafino de' Serafini, known for his religious frescoes and altarpieces.
Another notable figure in history was Serafino Aquilano, an Italian Renaissance poet who lived from 1466 to 1500. He was renowned for his sonnets and strambotti, a form of lyric poetry popular in his time. His poetic works often explored themes of love and courtly romance.
In the 16th century, the name was borne by Serafino Razzi, an Italian Dominican friar and historian who wrote extensively about the history of his religious order and the lives of its notable members. His most famous work, "Historia degli Huomini Illustri del Ordine de' Predicatori," was published in 1588.
Moving into the 17th century, we find Serafino Bizzarri, an Italian painter and engraver active in Rome during the Baroque period. He was known for his religious paintings and engravings, many of which adorned churches and public buildings throughout the city.
Throughout its history, the name Serafino has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including artists, writers, scholars, and religious figures. Its angelic origins and connection to the seraphim have imbued it with a sense of divine grace and protection, making it a popular choice for parents seeking to bestow these qualities upon their children.
People
Serafino + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Serafino 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
Serafino: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Serafino?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 41 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Serafino 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 8,359,862 US residents.
Is Serafino a common name?
We classify Serafino as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 272 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Serafino most popular?
The single biggest year for Serafino was 1915, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Serafino is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Serafino in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 249 people with the name Serafino, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,298 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 Serafino 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 Serafino?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Serafino appears almost entirely male. Of the 240 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Serafino?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Serafino is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Serafino most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Serafino in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.3% (205 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 Serafino in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Serafino a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Serafino 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 Serafino still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Serafino 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 Serafino 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 the name Serafino?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Serafino at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.