2000
#10,887
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,684
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Seda
A Spanish surname derived from the word "seda," meaning "silk," likely referring to a silk merchant or worker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,658 Americans carry the last name Seda. That puts it at #9,712 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 93,700 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Seda surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
3.7K
1 in 93,700
Census rank
#9,712
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,190 bearers of the surname Seda in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9712th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Seda, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 80.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.8%) and Black (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Seda
The surname SEDA has its origins in the regions of northern Spain and southern France. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word 'seta', meaning bristle or coarse hair, which was initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone with particularly coarse or unkempt hair.
The earliest recorded instances of the name SEDA can be traced back to the 12th century in various medieval documents from the Basque Country and Navarre. One notable example is found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a collection of charters and deeds from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, which mentions a certain Sancho Seda in the year 1187.
By the 13th century, the name had spread to other parts of Spain and the Iberian Peninsula. In the Libro de la Montería, a hunting manuscript commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile in 1342, there are references to places called Seda and Sedano, which may have been named after individuals with the surname SEDA.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname SEDA was Martín Seda, a Spanish soldier who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. Another notable figure was Hernando de Seda, a Spanish navigator and explorer who accompanied Francisco Pizarro on his expeditions to Peru in the 1530s.
In the 17th century, the name SEDA gained prominence in the region of Catalonia, where several individuals with this surname held important positions in the local government and military. One such person was Josep Seda, a Catalan military officer who fought against the French in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714).
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the SEDA surname spread to other parts of Europe and the Americas, carried by Spanish and Basque immigrants. One notable bearer of this name was José Seda y Barceló (1811-1876), a Spanish politician and writer who served as the Mayor of Madrid from 1868 to 1869.
Other historical figures with the surname SEDA include Jesús María Seda (1859-1936), a Cuban lawyer and politician who served as the President of the House of Representatives of Cuba, and José Seda y Gandía (1878-1910), a Puerto Rican writer and journalist who played a significant role in the island's literary renaissance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seda
Among Census respondents with the surname Seda, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 80.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.8%) and Black (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Seda bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Seda surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino80.9% · 2,582
- White13.8% · 439
- Black or African American2.7% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 45
- Two or more races1.0% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Seda
Seda appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#10,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,164
+480 bearers (+17.9%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 701 places
2020
#9,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,190
+26 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 474 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,887 | 2,684 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,186 | 3,164 | 1.07 | +480 bearers (+17.9%) | Up 701 places |
| 2020 | #9,712 | 3,190 | 1.07 | +26 bearers (+0.8%) | Up 474 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Seda surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,186 | #9,712 | 4.7% |
| Count | 3,164 | 3,190 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 1.07 | -0.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Seda bearers went from 3,164 to 3,190 (+0.8% change). The surname moved up 474 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,186 to #9,712.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Seda
FAQ
Seda surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Seda?
Name Census estimates that about 3,658 living Americans carry the surname Seda. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 93,700 residents.
How common is Seda?
Seda ranks #9,712 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,190 people with the surname Seda. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,658), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Seda.
Has Seda become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Seda went from 3,164 recorded bearers to 3,190. That is an increase of 26 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,186 to #9,712.
What does the Census say about the background of Seda?
Among Census respondents with the surname Seda, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 80.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.8%) and Black (2.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Seda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (2,582 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Seda appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (80.9%), White (13.8%), Black (2.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Seda (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Seda mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the word "seda," meaning "silk," likely referring to a silk merchant or worker. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Seda (1.07 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Seda?
Want to know how many people have the last name Seda? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.