Serai
Of Indian origin, meaning a type of Asian grass.
Name Census estimates that about 102 living Americans carry the first name Serai. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Serai today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Serai births was 2016 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Serai. 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 Serai with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
102
~ 1 in 3,360,337 Americans
Peak year
2016
9 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,921
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Serai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Serai 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 53 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Serai remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Serai 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 Serai 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 Serai
The name Serai is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which was the classical literary language of the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "sar," which translates to "essence" or "quintessence." It is thought to have been in use as early as the 1st century CE.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Serai can be found in the ancient Hindu text, the Upanishads, where it is mentioned as the name of a sage or wise man. This suggests that the name may have been associated with wisdom and spiritual enlightenment in its early usage.
In the 6th century CE, there is a record of a Buddhist monk named Serai who traveled from India to China and played a significant role in the spread of Buddhism in the region. This early historical figure is considered one of the most notable individuals to have borne the name.
During the medieval period, the name Serai was relatively uncommon but still appeared sporadically in various parts of the Indian subcontinent. One notable figure from this time was Serai Khan, a 14th-century ruler of the Delhi Sultanate who was known for his military prowess and administrative reforms.
In the 16th century, there was a Persian poet named Serai who was renowned for his lyrical compositions and contributions to the development of the ghazal form of poetry. His works were widely celebrated and influential during his lifetime.
Another significant individual with the name Serai was a 19th-century Indian social reformer and educator, Serai Narayana Guru. He played a pivotal role in promoting universal education and advocating for the rights of the underprivileged classes in Kerala.
While the name Serai may have been relatively uncommon throughout much of its history, it has carried associations of wisdom, spirituality, and literary achievement across various cultures and time periods.
People
Serai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Serai 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
Serai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Serai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 102 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Serai 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 3,360,337 US residents.
Is Serai a common name?
We classify Serai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 103 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Serai most popular?
The single biggest year for Serai was 2016, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Serai is about 10 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 Serai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Serai a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Serai 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 Serai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Serai 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 Serai 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 Serai?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.