Seydou
A masculine name of West African origin meaning "son of the prince".
Name Census estimates that about 107 living Americans carry the first name Seydou. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Seydou today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Seydou births was 2005 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Seydou. 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
107
~ 1 in 3,203,312 Americans
Peak year
2005
10 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2022 SSA rank
#14,007
Tracked since 2000
Census
Seydou in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 302 people with the first name Seydou, which placed it at #29,353 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
#29,353
National first-name rank
People counted
302
302 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seydou
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seydou is Black at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and White (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 Seydou 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 Seydou at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.4% · 282
- Two or more races4.6% · 14
- White2.0% · 6
Popularity
Seydou: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Seydou from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 53 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Seydou 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 Seydou during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Seydous live
Origin
Meaning and history of Seydou
Seydou is a masculine given name of West African origin, primarily used among the Fulani people of the Sahel region. It traces its roots back to the Fula language, which belongs to the Niger-Congo family of languages. The name Seydou is believed to be derived from the Arabic name "Sayyid," which translates to "master" or "lord."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Seydou can be traced back to the 13th century, when the Fulani people began to embrace Islam and adopted Arabic-influenced names. During this period, the name Seydou gained popularity among the ruling class and nobility of the Fulani kingdoms and empires that flourished across present-day West Africa.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Seydou was Seydou Nourou Tall (1879-1980), a Fulani religious leader and influential Islamic scholar from Senegal. He played a significant role in the spread of Islam and the preservation of Fulani culture in the region.
Another prominent figure was Seydou Keita (1921-2001), a celebrated Malian photographer who documented daily life in Bamako during the mid-20th century. His iconic black-and-white portraits and street scenes have become an important part of Mali's cultural heritage.
In the realm of literature, Seydou Badian (1929-2010), a Malian writer and poet, left an indelible mark with his works that explored themes of identity, tradition, and the complexities of modern African societies. His poetry and novels were widely acclaimed and translated into multiple languages.
Seydou Madani Sy (1932-2021), a Senegalese scholar and diplomat, served as the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) from 1985 to 1988. He played a pivotal role in promoting dialogue and cooperation among Muslim nations.
Seydou Nourou Cissé (1948-2020) was a renowned Malian musician and kora player who helped popularize the traditional music of West Africa on the international stage. His virtuosic performances and collaborations with artists from around the world brought him widespread acclaim and recognition.
While the name Seydou has its origins in the Fulani culture and Islamic traditions of West Africa, it has also been adopted by people of various backgrounds and ethnicities across the region, reflecting the cultural diversity and interconnectedness of the continent.
People
Seydou + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Seydou 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
Seydou: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Seydou?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 107 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Seydou 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 3,203,312 US residents.
Is Seydou a common name?
We classify Seydou as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 108 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Seydou most popular?
The single biggest year for Seydou was 2005, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Seydou is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Seydou in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 302 people with the name Seydou, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,353 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 Seydou 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 Seydou?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Seydou appears almost entirely male. Of the 311 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Seydou?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seydou is Black at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and White (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 Seydou most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Seydou in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (282 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 Seydou in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Seydou a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Seydou 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 Seydou still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Seydou 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 Seydou 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 are called Seydou?
You can see how many people have the name Seydou on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.