Serigne
A masculine Wolof name denoting a Muslim religious leader or saint.
Name Census estimates that about 240 living Americans carry the first name Serigne. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Serigne today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Serigne births was 2024 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Serigne. 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 Serigne with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
240
~ 1 in 1,428,143 Americans
Peak year
2024
25 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,288
Tracked since 1995
Census
Serigne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 408 people with the first name Serigne, which placed it at #23,859 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
#23,859
National first-name rank
People counted
408
408 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Serigne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Serigne is Black at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Serigne 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 Serigne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.9% · 387
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 8
- Two or more races2.0% · 8
- White1.0% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Serigne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Serigne from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 88 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Serigne remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Serigne 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 Serigne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Serignes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Serigne
The name Serigne originates from the Wolof language spoken in Senegal and parts of Gambia. It is derived from the Arabic word "Sayyid," which means "lord" or "master." The name has its roots in the spread of Islam in West Africa, particularly during the 11th to 13th centuries.
Serigne is a title of respect given to prominent Muslim religious leaders and scholars in Senegal. It is often used as a prefix before the person's name, indicating their spiritual authority and reverence within the community. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 13th century, when Sufi scholars and teachers began arriving in the region, spreading their teachings and establishing Islamic centers of learning.
One of the most famous individuals bearing the name Serigne was Serigne Touba Mouhamadou Mountakha Bassirou (1853-1913), the founder of the influential Mouride Brotherhood, a prominent Sufi order in Senegal. He played a significant role in the spiritual and social development of the country, and his legacy continues to influence Senegalese society.
Another notable figure was Serigne Abdoul Aziz Sy Dabakh (1904-1997), a revered Sufi leader and the founder of the Tidiania Gueye branch of the Tidiania order. He was highly respected for his teachings and his efforts in promoting education and social welfare.
Serigne Saliou Mbacke (1915-2007) was a prominent Sufi leader and the sixth Khalife (spiritual leader) of the Mouride Brotherhood. He played a crucial role in the modernization and expansion of the order, and his teachings emphasized the importance of education and social development.
Serigne Fallou Mbacke (1922-1968) was another influential figure within the Mouride Brotherhood. He was known for his efforts in promoting education and for his role in the development of the city of Touba, which is considered the spiritual capital of the Mourides.
Serigne Abdoul Ahad Mbacke (1914-1989) was a distinguished Sufi leader and the seventh Khalife of the Mouride Brotherhood. He was highly respected for his spiritual guidance and his contributions to the promotion of Islamic education and social welfare programs.
These are just a few examples of the many influential individuals who have borne the name Serigne throughout history, reflecting its deep connection to the spiritual and cultural legacy of Senegal and the broader West African region.
People
Serigne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Serigne 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
Serigne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Serigne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 240 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Serigne 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 1,428,143 US residents.
Is Serigne a common name?
We classify Serigne as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 242 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Serigne most popular?
The single biggest year for Serigne was 2024, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Serigne is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Serigne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 408 people with the name Serigne, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,859 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 Serigne 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 Serigne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Serigne appears almost entirely male. Of the 405 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Serigne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Serigne is Black at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Serigne most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Serigne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (387 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 Serigne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Serigne a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Serigne 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 Serigne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Serigne 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 Serigne 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 Americans are named Serigne?
Want to know how many people share the name Serigne? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.