Given name & surname
Seymour
“moor”·“from the French town of Saint Maur”
Seymour is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “moor” and “from the French town of Saint Maur” (French). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “moor” and “from the French town of Saint Maur” (French). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is French.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Seymour through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 13,122
- 13,112 boys · 10 girls
- Most popular year
- 1924
- 791 babies
- 2025
- 11
- #7,594 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 11 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 7,594 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 786 in 1924. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,557 as a first name in 2020; 24,319 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Seymour’s family of names
In English usage, Seymour has a conventional equivalent in the German form Moritz. Seymour has a related form in Seymore. Seymour has a related form in Seamor.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Seymour
- Seymour CrayApplied mathematician, computer scientist, and electrical engineer (1925–1996)
- Seymour PapertMIT mathematician, computer scientist, and educator (1928–2016)
- Seymour HershAmerican investigative journalist (born 1937)
- Seymour Martin LipsetAmerican sociologist (1922–2006)
- Seymour CasselAmerican actor (1935–2019)
- Seymour BenzerAmerican geneticist (1921–2007)
- Budd SchulbergAmerican writer (1914–2009)
- Seymour SteinAmerican music executive (1942–2023)
- Seymour CromwellAmerican rower (1934-1977)
Characters named Seymour: Principal Skinner (The Simpsons franchise).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Seymour, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Gennaro
“born of Janus”
>99% boys
Santo
“a holy man”
>99% boys
Richmond
“from the wealthy hill” · “a powerful protector”
>99% boys
Garland
“decorated with a wreath of flowers” · “one who is crowned”
86% boys · 14% girls
Clovis
“a renowned warrior”
>99% boys
Cipriano
“a man from Cyprus”
>99% boys
Delmar
“a man of the sea”
>99% boys
Laurent
“a graceful woman”
90% boys · 10% girls