Seraphina
Feminine · “burning one”
Seraphina comes from the seraphim, the six-winged burning angels of the Book of Isaiah — a Hebrew word that passed into Greek and Latin whole, then grew a Latin feminine ending. It has been said aloud in Italy, Poland and Russia for centuries, and the long middle of it, that FEE, gives the name its lift. Rare in American classrooms, but climbing steadily rather than arriving out of nowhere.
How old is the name Seraphina?
Seraphina first appears in US birth records in 1916 — 109 years ago. The typical Seraphina is a kid of about 7 — this name's wave is very recent. About 4,100 people named Seraphina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Seraphina most popular?
Seraphina peaked in 2025, reaching #599 nationally. Today it ranks #599, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Seraphina appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From śārap (Hebrew: to burn) to Seraphina
The story of Seraphina
The word arrived in Latin through the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, untranslated, as seraphim — the angels Isaiah saw above the throne, each with six wings. Medieval Christian Europe turned it into a personal name, Seraphinus for men and Seraphina for women, and it settled most firmly in Italy, where Serafina became ordinary. Russian took the same root as Serafima, and Poland and Spain kept their own spellings. English-speakers borrowed it late and kept the ph, which is why the American spelling looks Greek even though the sound is Italian.
Meaning
burning one, fiery one — from the seraphim, the highest order of angels
The Hebrew root śārap means to burn; seraphim are the burning ones described in Isaiah's vision of the throne. Seraphina is the Latin feminine formed from that word.
How the name formed
- śārapHebrew: to burn
- seraphim
- Seraphinus / SeraphinaLatin
- Serafina
- Seraphina
Related forms: Serafina · Serafina · Serafima · Séraphine · Serafina · Seraphine
Pronouncing Seraphina
seh-ruh-FEE-nuh
Four syllables, stress on the third. A minority of English-speakers say seh-ruh-FY-nuh; the Italian-style FEE is the usual American reading, and worth saying first when you introduce her.
Nicknames for Seraphina
High
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
- 1916
- Most girls named
- 2025489 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #599reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +34.7%489 in 2025, from 363
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.
Seraphina in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Serafina in Italian — same name
- Serafina in Spanish — same name
- Serafima in Russian — related form
- Séraphine in French — related form
- Serafina in Polish — same name
- Seraphine in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Seraphinas among us
people named Seraphina are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 3,287 born in 2025 was named Seraphina
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Seraphina
- #599
- Seraphina on the 2025 chart
- #402
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Seraphina went to 489 girls in 2025, but Serafina is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 734, which makes it the 402nd most-given girls’ name of the year — 197 places above the chart.
- Seraphina489
- Serafina245
About 1 girl in 2,190 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 3,287 for Seraphina itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jessika test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Seraphina's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jessika climbed just as high around 1990, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jessika's path sketches the road Seraphina is walking now.
Seraphina is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Seraphina is headed
Seraphina looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 22% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
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.
Seraphina beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Seraphina in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Several established short forms, front and back — Sera, Fina, Seri — so the full name never has to be the everyday one.
- Recognizable across Italian, Spanish, Polish, French and Russian, with a local spelling waiting in each.
- A documented record going back to medieval Latin, so it is a revival rather than a coinage.
- Distinctive without being invented: almost certainly the only one in her class, but not a name anyone has to be taught.
- Serafina is the older and more widespread spelling, so expect to correct the f-for-ph fairly often, in both directions.
- Four syllables is a lot to carry on forms and roll calls. It works best if you are genuinely happy with one of the short forms as her daily name.
- The angel meaning is right on the surface — people will hear seraph. That is either the appeal or the thing that makes it a little much, depending on your family.
- It is on the rise rather than at rest, so it will likely feel less unusual by the time she is grown than it does now.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Seraphina to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Seraphina? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Seraphina
Feminine · #599 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Seraphinas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,100 people named Seraphina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Seraphina?
- Seraphina is the most-used spelling in US records — 489 of the 734 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Serafina.
- How popular is the name Seraphina in 2025?
- Seraphina ranks #599 among US girl names in 2025, with 489 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Seraphina?
- About 1 in every 3,287 US girls born in 2025 was named Seraphina — 489 in all.
- Will my child share the name Seraphina with classmates?
- Seraphina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Seraphina
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Elliott#599 · Emelia#601 · Marina#601 · Aliana#603 · Halle#595 · Avianna#595 · Tiana#595 · Mina#595
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Seraphina? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Seraphina and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle