Seymour
A masculine name of Norman origin meaning "from the old village".
Name Census estimates that about 1,486 living Americans carry the first name Seymour. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Seymour today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Seymour births was 1924 (791 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Seymour. 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
- • The typical person named Seymour is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Seymours were born before 1960.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 230,656 Americans
Peak year
1924
791 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,334
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Seymour
Out of the 13,112 babies given the name Seymour since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Seymour as a male name
- Ranked #10,707 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1924 (786 births)
Seymour as a female name
- Ranked #5,334 in 1928
- 5 female births in 1928
- Peak: 1924 (5 births)
Popularity
Seymour: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Seymour from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 6,543 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
Seymour 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 Seymour during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Seymours live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. New York, Illinois, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Seymour, while Louisiana, Indiana, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 699 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Seymour
The name Seymour is of Anglo-Norman origin and is derived from the Old French surname "Saint Maur" or "Seynt Mour". This name refers to Saint Maurus, a disciple of Saint Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine order. It is believed that the name was brought to England by Norman nobility after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
In its earliest form, the name was spelled as "Seynt Mour" or "Seint Mour". Over time, the spelling evolved to "Seymour". The name gained popularity in England during the Middle Ages, particularly among noble families and landed gentry.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Seymour can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named "Roger de Sancto Mauro" (Roger of St. Maur). This suggests that the name was already in use in England shortly after the Norman Conquest.
The Seymour family played a significant role in English history, particularly during the Tudor period. Among the notable figures with this name were Sir John Seymour (c. 1476-1536), who served as a courtier to King Henry VIII and was the father of Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII. Jane Seymour (c. 1508-1537) became Queen of England in 1536 and gave birth to the future King Edward VI.
Another prominent figure with the name Seymour was Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (c. 1500-1552), who served as Lord Protector of England during the minority of his nephew, King Edward VI. He played a crucial role in the English Reformation and the establishment of Protestant reforms in England.
Other notable individuals with the name Seymour include Sir Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (1718-1794), a British politician and courtier; and Jane Seymour (1951-present), an English actress best known for her role in the James Bond film "Live and Let Die".
Throughout history, the name Seymour has been associated with nobility, military service, and political influence in England. Its connection to Saint Maurus and the Benedictine order also lends it a spiritual connotation.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Seymour
People
Seymour + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Seymour 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
Seymour: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Seymour?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,486 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Seymour 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 230,656 US residents.
Is Seymour a common name?
We classify Seymour as "Rare". It ranks above 92.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,112 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Seymour most popular?
The single biggest year for Seymour was 1924, when 791 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Seymour is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Seymour a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Seymour 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.
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.