Signa
A feminine Latin name meaning "sign" or "mark".
Name Census estimates that about 67 living Americans carry the first name Signa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Signa today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Signa births was 1916 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Signa. 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 Signa is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Signas were born before 1963.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Signa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
67
~ 1 in 5,115,736 Americans
Peak year
1916
14 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1993 SSA rank
#13,212
Tracked since 1889
Census
Signa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 193 people with the first name Signa, which placed it at #39,252 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
#39,252
National first-name rank
People counted
193
193 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Signa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Signa is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Signa 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 Signa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.8% · 152
- Black or African American10.4% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 8
- Two or more races1.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
Popularity
Signa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Signa from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 100 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Signa 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 Signa 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 Signa
The name Signa is derived from the Latin word "signum," which means "sign" or "mark." Its origins can be traced back to ancient Rome, where it was used as a name for both men and women.
In Roman times, the name Signa was sometimes given to children born under auspicious signs or omens. It was believed that these signs foretold a child's destiny or future accomplishments. As such, the name carried connotations of good fortune and divine favor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Signa appears in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who mentions a woman named Signa Pompeia living in the 1st century AD. Unfortunately, little is known about her life or significance.
In the early Christian era, the name Signa gained popularity among believers who saw it as a reference to the miraculous signs performed by Jesus Christ and his apostles. Saint Signa, a 4th-century martyr from Umbria, Italy, is one of the earliest known Christians to bear the name.
During the Middle Ages, the name Signa was relatively uncommon but remained in use, particularly in Italy and other parts of Europe. One notable individual was Signa dei Conti di Segni, an Italian noblewoman who lived in the 13th century and was renowned for her piety and charitable works.
In the Renaissance period, the name experienced a resurgence in popularity, possibly due to the renewed interest in classical Latin culture. Signa Romani, an Italian painter and sculptor from the 16th century, was one of the most famous bearers of the name during this time.
Other notable individuals named Signa throughout history include:
1. Signa of Burgundy (c. 790-836 AD), a Frankish noblewoman and the wife of Emperor Louis the Pious.
2. Signa Manion (1887-1950), an American actress and singer who performed in vaudeville and on Broadway.
3. Signa Hierta (1884-1965), a Swedish feminist and politician who served as a member of the Riksdag (Swedish parliament).
4. Signa Sohmers (1920-2007), an American author and journalist known for her novels and works on feminism and women's issues.
5. Signa Brettreich (1913-2002), a German artist and painter who specialized in portraiture and landscape painting.
While the name Signa has never been exceptionally common, it has maintained a presence throughout history, particularly in European countries with Latin linguistic influences. Its enduring appeal likely stems from its distinctive sound and its connection to themes of divine signs, omens, and destiny.
People
Signa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Signa 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
Signa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Signa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 67 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Signa 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 5,115,736 US residents.
Is Signa a common name?
We classify Signa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 411 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Signa most popular?
The single biggest year for Signa was 1916, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Signa is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Signa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 193 people with the name Signa, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,252 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 Signa 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 Signa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Signa leans strongly female. 184 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Signa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Signa is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Signa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Signa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.8% (152 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 Signa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Signa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Signa 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 Signa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Signa 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 Signa 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 Signa?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.