Seretha
An English feminine name of unknown meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 307 living Americans carry the first name Seretha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Seretha today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Seretha births was 1959 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Seretha. 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.
People living today
307
~ 1 in 1,116,464 Americans
Peak year
1959
15 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1989 SSA rank
#14,072
Tracked since 1915
Census
Seretha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 347 people with the first name Seretha, which placed it at #26,696 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
#26,696
National first-name rank
People counted
347
347 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
66.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seretha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seretha is Black at 66.0%. The next largest groups are White (28.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Seretha 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 Seretha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.0% · 229
- White28.5% · 99
- Two or more races2.9% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 4
Popularity
Seretha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Seretha from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 106 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Seretha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Seretha 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 Seretha 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 Seretha
The name Seretha is of Greek origin and is derived from the word "serene," which means calm, tranquil, or peaceful. This name has its roots in ancient Greek culture, dating back to the classical era.
During the Hellenistic period, which began in the 4th century BC, the name Seretha gained popularity among Greek families. It was often given to daughters as a symbol of the desired qualities of serenity and tranquility. The name was also associated with the Greek goddess Hestia, who represented the hearth, home, and family.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Seretha can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. In his work "Histories," he mentions a woman named Seretha who lived in the city of Miletus during the 5th century BC. Unfortunately, not much is known about her life or significance.
In the Byzantine era, which lasted from the 4th to the 15th century AD, the name Seretha continued to be used among Greek communities. It was particularly popular in the region of Anatolia, which is now part of modern-day Turkey.
One notable figure in history with the name Seretha was a Byzantine princess who lived in the 10th century AD. She was the daughter of Emperor Basil II and was known for her intelligence and dedication to the arts and literature.
Another historical figure with the name Seretha was a Greek scholar and philosopher who lived in the 12th century AD. She was renowned for her contributions to the field of logic and her influential writings on metaphysics.
During the Renaissance period, the name Seretha gained popularity in Italy, where it was often spelled as "Serena." One example is Serena Naldi, an Italian poet and writer who lived in the 16th century. She was celebrated for her sonnets and literary works that explored themes of love and nature.
In the 18th century, a Greek woman named Seretha Komnena played a significant role in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. She was a skilled military strategist and leader, known for her courage and unwavering determination in the fight for Greek independence.
Throughout history, the name Seretha has been associated with qualities of calmness, tranquility, and inner peace. While not as common as some other names, it has been carried by notable figures across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its enduring appeal and connection to the ideals of serenity.
People
Seretha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Seretha 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
Seretha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Seretha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 307 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Seretha 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 1,116,464 US residents.
Is Seretha a common name?
We classify Seretha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 518 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Seretha most popular?
The single biggest year for Seretha was 1959, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Seretha is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Seretha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 347 people with the name Seretha, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,696 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 Seretha 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 Seretha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Seretha appears almost entirely female. Of the 346 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Seretha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Seretha is Black at 66.0%. The next largest groups are White (28.5%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Seretha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Seretha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.0% (229 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 Seretha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Seretha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Seretha 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 Seretha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Seretha 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 Seretha 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 Seretha?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.