Sinai
Of Hebrew origin, meaning "bush" or "divine bushiness".
Name Census estimates that about 2,419 living Americans carry the first name Sinai. It is a predominantly female name (90.2% of registrations). The average person named Sinai today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sinai births was 2009 (115 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sinai. 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 Sinai with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Sinai is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.4K
~ 1 in 141,693 Americans
Peak year
2009
115 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,422
Tracked since 1988
Census
Sinai in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,893 people with the first name Sinai, which placed it at #7,858 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
#7,858
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,893 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
78.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sinai
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sinai is Hispanic at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and White (5.1%). 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 Sinai 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 Sinai at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino78.1% · 1,479
- Black or African American13.0% · 246
- White5.1% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 44
- Two or more races1.1% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Sinai
Sinai leans heavily female at 90.2% of total registrations, but 240 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sinai as a male name
- Ranked #6,396 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (16 births)
Sinai as a female name
- Ranked #2,422 in 2024
- 75 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (103 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sinai leans strongly female. 1,642 people counted with this name were female (86.7%), compared with 252 male bearers (13.3%).
Popularity
Sinai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sinai from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 864 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Sinai remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sinai 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 Sinai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sinais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Sinai, while South Carolina, Oregon, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 89 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sinai
The name Sinai has its origins in ancient Semitic languages and is believed to be derived from the word "sinah," which means "bush" or "thorn bush." This name is closely associated with the biblical Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God according to the book of Exodus in the Old Testament.
The earliest recorded use of the name Sinai can be traced back to the 13th century BCE, when the mountain was referred to as "Sinai" in the Hebrew Bible. The mountain itself is located in the Sinai Peninsula, which is situated between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and has been a significant location in the history of various religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Sinai was Sinai, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 4th century CE. He is known for his contributions to the study of the Talmud and is considered one of the most influential Jewish sages of his time.
Another notable figure with the name Sinai was Sinai ben Gamaliel, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 5th century CE. He was a prominent member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme court and legislative body of ancient Israel, and was known for his wisdom and expertise in Jewish law.
In the 12th century, there was a Jewish philosopher and scholar named Sinai ben Joseph, who was born in Spain and was known for his works on Jewish philosophy and theology. He was also a prominent figure in the field of Jewish-Christian polemics, which involved debates and discussions between Jews and Christians on religious matters.
During the 16th century, there was a Jewish scholar and mystic named Sinai Luzatto, who was born in Italy. He was a prolific writer and is best known for his works on Jewish mysticism and kabbalah, which have had a significant influence on Jewish thought and spirituality.
In the 18th century, there was a Jewish scholar and rabbi named Sinai Raphael Hirsch, who was born in Germany. He was a prominent figure in the Jewish Orthodox movement and is known for his efforts to reconcile traditional Judaism with modern secular culture and education.
While the name Sinai is most closely associated with the biblical mountain and has deep religious and cultural significance, it has also been used by individuals from various backgrounds and cultures throughout history. The name continues to hold a special meaning for many people, particularly those of Jewish and Christian faiths, and serves as a reminder of the profound spiritual and historical significance of Mount Sinai.
People
Sinai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sinai 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
Sinai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sinai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,419 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sinai 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 141,693 US residents.
Is Sinai a common name?
We classify Sinai as "Rare". It ranks above 94.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,449 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sinai most popular?
The single biggest year for Sinai was 2009, when 115 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sinai 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 Sinai in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,893 people with the name Sinai, or 0.63 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,858 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 Sinai 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 Sinai?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sinai leans strongly female. 1,642 people counted with this name were female (86.7%), compared with 252 male bearers (13.3%). 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 Sinai?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sinai is Hispanic at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and White (5.1%). 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 Sinai most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Sinai in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.1% (1,479 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 Sinai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sinai a female name?
Yes, 90.2% of people registered as Sinai 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 Sinai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sinai 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 Sinai 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 named Sinai?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.