Is Seneca a boy or girl name?

Seneca is a unisex name. Of the 3,523 Americans recorded with the name since 1880, 50.1% were girls and 49.9% were boys. It changed hands in 2020, and has gone mainly to girls since.

Name Legacy

Seneca

Recorded 1956–2025 · United States

Seneca was most popular in 1977, when 219 American babies were given the name — ranking #1,254 that year. In 2025 it ranked #5,675, with 49 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 3,523 people named Seneca.

Seneca over time

Births per year. The dot marks Seneca’s peak in 1977. Gaps are years the SSA suppressed, which it does for any name given to fewer than five babies.

Is Seneca a boy’s or a girl’s name?

Across the whole record Seneca is a unisex name — 50.1% of the 3,523 Americans given it were girls and 49.9% were boys. It changed hands: since 2020 it has gone mainly to girls, having gone mainly to boys before that. In births since 2016 it is 59% girls and 41% boys.

Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.

Names that peaked alongside Seneca

Where Seneca is most concentrated

How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.

Explore further

See Seneca on the interactive charts

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org