boy's name
Serge
SAIRZH
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 5
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 221,426
Serge is a boy's name from a Roman family name of unknown meaning, and it is also a cloth — the twilled fabric is named from the same Latin word for silk, by a separate route.
- Serge is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1952, when 7,880 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 58,952 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Serge over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 920 |
| 1910s | 2,790 |
| 1920s | 14,195 |
| 1930s | 30,665 |
| 1940s | 43,840 |
| 1950s | 71,995 |
| 1960s | 42,150 |
| 1970s | 9,455 |
| 1980s | 2,175 |
| 1990s | 625 |
| 2000s | 305 |
| 2010s | 165 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 75 |
What Serge means
Serge has no established meaning. The Roman family name Sergius is probably Etruscan and its sense is lost; the servant and guardian readings often given are not derived from anything demonstrable.
Where Serge comes from
Serge is the French form of the Latin Sergius, a Roman gens name that is probably Etruscan and whose meaning is unrecovered. The readings servant and guardian that circulate have no support. Saint Sergius of Radonezh, who founded the Trinity Lavra north of Moscow in the fourteenth century, made the name central to Russian naming as Sergei. The fabric called serge is unrelated to the name: it comes through Old French from the Latin serica, silken, which is itself from the Greek name for the Chinese — so the cloth traces to a people and the name to an Etruscan family.
Serge in use
Serge peaked in France in 1952, when 7,880 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now charts in two of the seven markets we track — 2766th in France on 10 births and 8422nd in the United States — across 221,426 lifetime births. Its Russian equivalent Sergei is far more widely used worldwide, though it falls outside the six markets we cover.
How popular is Serge?
In 2025, Serge was given to 10 babies in France. It is a rare choice.
Where Serge is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Serge
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Serge also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Serge over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Serge in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Serge
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Serge — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Serge
What does the name Serge mean?
Not established. The Roman family name Sergius is probably Etruscan and its meaning is lost.
Is the fabric serge related?
No. The cloth comes from the Latin serica, silken, ultimately from the Greek name for the Chinese.
Is Sergei the same name?
Yes, the Russian form — far more widely used worldwide than the French one.
How popular is Serge?
2766th in France, down from a 1952 peak of 7,880 births.
Is Serge a girl's or a boy's name?
Serge is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Serge?
Serge has 1 syllable.
Is Serge a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Serge currently ranks #2,766 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.