Seline
An attractive French feminine name derived from the Greek selene, meaning "moon".
Name Census estimates that about 517 living Americans carry the first name Seline. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Seline today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Seline births was 2021 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Seline. 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 Seline with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
517
~ 1 in 662,968 Americans
Peak year
2021
45 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,015
Tracked since 1931
Census
Seline in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 566 people with the first name Seline, which placed it at #18,900 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
#18,900
National first-name rank
People counted
566
566 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
42.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seline
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seline is Hispanic at 42.0%. The next largest groups are White (29.2%) and Black (12.4%). 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 Seline 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 Seline at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino42.0% · 238
- White29.2% · 165
- Black or African American12.4% · 70
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.4% · 70
- Two or more races2.8% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 7
Popularity
Seline: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Seline from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 174 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Seline 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 Seline during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Selines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Seline, while Florida, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Seline
The name Seline is derived from the Greek word "selene," which means "moon." It has its origins in ancient Greek mythology, where Selene was the goddess of the moon. The name was likely first used during the classical period of ancient Greece, around the 5th century BCE.
In Greek mythology, Selene was often depicted as a beautiful woman riding a chariot drawn by two white horses or oxen. She was the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and was associated with the cycles of the moon and its influence on the natural world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Seline can be found in the works of the ancient Greek playwright Euripides, who lived from around 480 BCE to 406 BCE. In his play "Ion," one of the characters bears the name Seline.
During the Byzantine Empire, which lasted from the 4th to the 15th centuries, the name Seline was sometimes used as a variant spelling of the name Selene. A notable historical figure with this name was Seline of Bulgaria, who was the wife of the Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos and lived from around 1080 to 1126.
In the Middle Ages, the name Seline was also used in various parts of Europe, particularly in regions with Greek cultural influences. One example is Seline de l'Anse, a French noblewoman who lived in the 13th century and was known for her involvement in the Crusades.
Another notable figure with the name Seline was Seline de' Strozzi, an Italian Renaissance painter who lived from around 1497 to 1567. She was part of the influential Strozzi family in Florence and was known for her portraits and religious works.
During the 19th century, the name Seline gained popularity in parts of Eastern Europe, particularly in regions with Greek or Slavic influences. One example is Seline Sokolović, a Serbian writer and feminist who lived from 1862 to 1904 and was known for her advocacy of women's rights.
While the name Seline has remained relatively uncommon in many parts of the world, it has maintained its connection to its Greek roots and the mythological symbolism of the moon. Its use throughout history has spanned various cultures and regions, reflecting the enduring influence of ancient Greek mythology and language.
People
Seline + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Seline 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
Seline: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Seline?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 517 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Seline 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 662,968 US residents.
Is Seline a common name?
We classify Seline as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 529 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Seline most popular?
The single biggest year for Seline was 2021, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Seline is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Seline in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 566 people with the name Seline, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,900 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 Seline 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 Seline?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Seline appears almost entirely female. Of the 564 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Seline?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seline is Hispanic at 42.0%. The next largest groups are White (29.2%) and Black (12.4%). 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 Seline most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Seline in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.0% (238 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 Seline in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Seline a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Seline 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 Seline still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Seline 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 Seline 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 share the name Seline?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.