boy's name
Seth
SETH
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 185,222
the United States
#581
2025 births
Seth is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "appointed" or "placed," given to Adam and Eve's third son after Cain killed Abel. It ranks 108th in Northern Ireland and 581st in the United States.
- Seth is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 2000, when 6,725 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 6,565 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Seth over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 270 |
| 1890s | 168 |
| 1900s | 181 |
| 1910s | 642 |
| 1920s | 874 |
| 1930s | 612 |
| 1940s | 852 |
| 1950s | 2,101 |
| 1960s | 3,792 |
| 1970s | 16,669 |
| 1980s | 31,318 |
| 1990s | 42,316 |
| 2000s | 48,259 |
| 2010s | 14,686 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,548 |
What Seth means
Seth means appointed, placed or granted, from the Hebrew shet. Genesis explains it in the text: Eve names him because God has appointed her another child in place of Abel, so the name is about replacement.
Where Seth comes from
Seth comes from the Hebrew Shet, from a root meaning to place or appoint, and Genesis 4 gives the reason directly — Eve says God has appointed her another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain killed. Seth is therefore the ancestor through whom the line to Noah and Abraham runs, since Cain's line is written off. He barely appears afterward, but later Jewish and Gnostic tradition made a great deal of him, and the Sethians treated him as a revealer figure. A quite separate Seth is the Egyptian god Set, brother and murderer of Osiris, associated with storms and the desert — a coincidence of transliteration rather than any connection, though it is a striking one given the fratricide in both stories. The name reached English use through Puritan revival of Old Testament names.
Seth in use
Seth ranks 108th in Northern Ireland with 21 births in 2024, 294th in England and Wales and 581st in the United States with 505 births. It is falling in our data from a peak in 2000, and our records carry it from 1880. It appears in every market we hold, which is unusual for an Old Testament name that never became a top-100 fixture anywhere.
How popular is Seth?
In 2025, Seth was given to 505 babies in the United States, ranking #581 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Seth is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Seth
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Seth also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Seth over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Seth 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 Seth
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Seth — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Seth
What does the name Seth mean?
Seth means "appointed" or "placed." Genesis explains it — Eve names him because God appointed her another child in place of Abel.
Who was Seth in the Bible?
Adam and Eve's third son, through whom the line to Noah and Abraham runs after Cain's line is written off.
Is Seth the Egyptian god?
No. That is a separate name, Set, that coincides in transliteration only.
How popular is Seth?
108th in Northern Ireland and 581st in the United States.
Is Seth a girl's or a boy's name?
Seth is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Seth?
Seth has 1 syllable.
Is Seth a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Seth currently ranks #108 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.