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Seneca

#4,342 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Old

Seneca has been given to 3,523 babies in the U.S. since 1956. In 2025 it ranked #4,342 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1995, with 53 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 50% girls, 50% boys all-time.

Babies named Seneca, 2025

1 in 100,000

Seneca over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Seneca over time

In 2025, Seneca went to 67% girls and 33% boys.

19562025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Seneca: meaning, origin, and history

Old

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Seneca means

Seneca means “old”.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,766 girls were recorded with the name Seneca between 1956 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 53 in 1995; its best national rank was #2,059 in 1980.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #4,148 in 2020 to #4,342 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #4,393 in 2015 to #4,342 in 2025.

In the United States, 1,757 boys were recorded with the name Seneca between 1975 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 179 in 1977; its best national rank was #633 in 1977.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #5,418 in 2020 to #5,806 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #5,250 in 2015 to #5,806 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Seneca?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 100,000
33 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 48,700
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#4,342
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
69,634 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Seneca sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 69,634 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Seneca. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Senecas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Seneca was born before 1999 — so the typical Seneca is around 26 today.

Median birth year
1999
About 26 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
22.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
47.4%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
1,766
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 22.7% of all recorded uses (401).

Is Seneca rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+930
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−194
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+51
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.00×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
62.3%
Peak was 1995 (53)
Years since peak
30
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
21.3% average annual change
Best rank ever
#2,059
1980

Spellings of Seneca

Seneca is not the most common spelling — Geneva is, with 38.1% against Seneca's 0.76%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Seneca is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Seneca was most concentrated in Arizona — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 557,918 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Arizona1 in —
  2. 2California1 in —
  3. 3Illinois1 in —
  4. 4Michigan1 in —
  5. 5New York1 in —
  6. 6Ohio1 in —
  7. 7Pennsylvania1 in —
  8. 8South Carolina1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Seneca has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Seneca is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Seneca was most concentrated in Alabama — about 1 in 100,000 boys, against 1 in 225,142 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Alabama1 in 100,000
  2. 2Georgia1 in 100,000
  3. 3Illinois1 in 100,000
  4. 4Michigan1 in 100,000
  5. 5Mississippi1 in 100,000
  6. 6North Carolina1 in 100,000
  7. 7California1 in —
  8. 8Florida1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Seneca has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Seneca around the world

Where Seneca ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • Canada
    2002–2011
    #3,211
    in 2011

Popularity data from Statistics Canada. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Seneca by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#4,342
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 194
Best rank ever
#2,059
1980
Peak year
1995
53 that year
First recorded
1956
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,766
Count in 2025
33

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#5,806
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 388
Best rank ever
#633
1977
Peak year
1977
179 that year
First recorded
1975
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,757
Count in 2025
16

Names similar to Seneca

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

SenoraSennaSeniaSenaSenaidaSenaiRebecaSendyJessecaTamecaSennieSenitaSeniyaSentaVivecaRebbecaSeniyahSeniahSenayaSenyaSenoviaJamecaTomecaShameca

Sibling names for Seneca

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Seneca

Top names of 1995, Seneca's peak yearThe 1990s in fullOther names that peaked in 1980Girls' names starting with SAncient Roman Names