Serayah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God has sung".
Name Census estimates that about 488 living Americans carry the first name Serayah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Serayah today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Serayah births was 2018 (59 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Serayah. 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
488
~ 1 in 702,365 Americans
Peak year
2018
59 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,956
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Serayah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Serayah 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 248 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Serayah 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 Serayah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Serayahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Florida, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Serayah, while Tennessee, Ohio, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Serayah
The name Serayah is derived from the Hebrew language and has its origins in ancient Israelite culture. It is a variant spelling of the biblical name Seraiah, which means "Yahweh has prevailed" or "soldier of Yahweh" in Hebrew.
The name Seraiah is found in the Old Testament of the Bible, particularly in the books of Jeremiah and Ezra. In Jeremiah 51:59, Seraiah is mentioned as the son of Neriah and a prince of Judah during the reign of King Zedekiah. He is also listed among the chief priests who were carried into exile by Nebuchadnezzar after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Serayah or a similar spelling was Seraiah, a scribe who served under King David in ancient Israel around 1000 BCE. He is mentioned in 2 Samuel 8:17 as one of David's officials.
In the Middle Ages, the name Serayah appeared in various forms across different cultures and regions influenced by the spread of Judaism and Christianity. For instance, in medieval Spain, the name was sometimes spelled as Seray or Serai.
Among notable historical figures with the name Serayah, one can mention Seraiah ben Judah ha-Levi, a prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher from the 12th century CE. He was born in Barcelona, Spain, and is known for his works on astronomy and mathematics.
Another individual of note is Seraiah ben Meir ha-Levi, a renowned Jewish scholar and poet who lived in the 11th century CE. He was born in Tripoli, Libya, and is famous for his liturgical compositions and contributions to Jewish poetry.
In the 16th century, there was Serayah ben Joseph Berab, a Jewish scholar and kabbalist from Safed, Ottoman Palestine. He was a student of the famous Rabbi Isaac Luria and wrote several works on Jewish mysticism.
Moving to more recent times, Serayah Ranee is an American actress and singer born in 1995. She is best known for her role as Tiana Brown in the television series Empire.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Serayah throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Serayah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Serayah 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
Serayah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Serayah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 488 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Serayah 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 702,365 US residents.
Is Serayah a common name?
We classify Serayah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 491 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Serayah most popular?
The single biggest year for Serayah was 2018, when 59 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Serayah is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Serayah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Serayah 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.