Sekou
Masculine · “elder”
Sekou is the West African form of an Arabic title — the shaykh, the elder whose authority comes from learning and age. It is among the most-used men's names in Guinea, Mali and Senegal.
How old is the name Sekou?
Sekou first appears in US birth records in 1970 — 55 years ago. The typical Sekou alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 1,100 people named Sekou are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sekou most popular?
Sekou peaked in 1972, reaching #1441 nationally. Today it ranks #3314, 1,873 places below that high. See the whole 1972 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From shaykh to Sekou
The story of Sekou
Islam reached West Africa across the Sahara from the eleventh century, and with it came a vocabulary of learning and authority. Shaykh became a title and then a personal name, written Sekou in Guinea and Mali and Cheikh in Senegal, both following French spelling conventions. The name is very widely borne across the region, and it reaches American records with families from those countries and through African-American families choosing West African names.
Meaning
elder, learned man
From Arabic shaykh, an elder or a man of religious learning; West African languages reshaped it as Sekou and Cheikh, and French orthography fixed the spellings used in the region.
How the name formed
- shaykh
- Sekou
Related forms: Shaykh · Cheikh · Cheikhou
Pronouncing Sekou
SAY-koo
Two syllables, first stressed. The ou is the oo of soon, following French spelling.
Nicknames for Sekou
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1970
- Most boys named
- 201138 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1441reached in 1972
- Change vs 2024
- +52.2%35 in 2025, from 23
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Sekou in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Shaykh in Arabic — related form
- Cheikh in French — spelling variant
- Cheikhou in Wolof — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota.
Sekous among us
people named Sekou are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 48,802 born in 2025 was named Sekou
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Benedetto test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Sekou's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Benedetto climbed just as high around 1913, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Benedetto's path sketches the road Sekou is walking now.
Sekou sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Sekou is headed
Sekou should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Sekou beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sekou in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning tied to a real and respected social role.
- Five letters and two syllables, easy to write and to say.
- Very widely borne across West Africa, so it has a large community behind it.
- English readers see ou and say ow, so expect SEK-ow until corrected.
- Cheikh and Sekou are the same name in different national spellings.
- A title as a name is unusual in English, and the practice needs a sentence of explanation.
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What they receive
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Sekou
Masculine · #3314 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sekous are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Sekou are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sekou in 2025?
- Sekou ranks #3314 among US boy names in 2025, with 35 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sekou?
- About 1 in every 48,802 US boys born in 2025 was named Sekou — 35 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sekou with classmates?
- Sekou will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sekou
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rainier#3314 · Coulter#3314 · Caio#3314 · Kaydon#3314 · Daksh#3314 · Kree#3314 · Calen#3314 · Mathis#3314
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sekou? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sekou and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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