Find out how popular the last name Sesay is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sesay.

Sesay, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sesay surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sesay in America

Sesay is the 12407th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sesay surname appeared 2,506 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sesay.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sesay to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Sesay

The surname SESAY originates from West Africa, specifically in the modern-day countries of Sierra Leone and Guinea. It is a name with roots dating back to the 17th century and earlier, derived from the Susu and Mende ethnic groups in that region.

In its earliest forms, the name was often spelled as "Seisay" or "Seysay," reflecting the variations in pronunciation and transliteration from the original African languages. The name is thought to be derived from the Mende word "sei," meaning "stranger" or "visitor," suggesting that the name may have been given to families or individuals who had traveled or settled in a new area.

Historical records show that the name SESAY appeared in various documents and records related to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, as individuals with this surname were among those forcibly transported from West Africa to the Americas during the 17th and 18th centuries. Some of the earliest known references can be found in plantation records and ship manifests from that era.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the SESAY surname was Sori Sesay, a Susu warrior and leader who fought against the British colonial forces in Sierra Leone in the late 18th century. His resistance efforts were documented in British military accounts from that time.

Another notable figure was Samuel Ayodele Sesay, a Sierra Leonean politician and educator who served as a member of the Legislative Council in the early 20th century. He was born in 1873 and played a role in the early development of Sierra Leone's educational system.

During the 20th century, the name gained prominence in Sierra Leone and Guinea, with several individuals bearing the SESAY surname achieving notable positions. These include Issa Sesay, a former leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group in Sierra Leone, who was born in 1970 and was later convicted of war crimes by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Additionally, Ishmael Sesay was a Sierra Leonean diplomat and politician who served as the country's Ambassador to the United Nations in the 1990s, and Alfred Sesay was a prominent Sierra Leonean journalist and writer who published several works on the country's history and culture.

While the SESAY surname has its origins in West Africa, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities, with individuals bearing this name now found in various countries across multiple continents.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sesay

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sesay.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sesay was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sesay has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sesay was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sesay, please contact us.

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