Fun Facts About the Name Sequoia
- More than 4 thousand babies named Sequoia: U.S. records list 4,426 babies given the name Sequoia from 1880 through 2025. Even 490 boys received the name Sequoia - about 1 boy for every 8 girls.
What Does the Name Sequoia Mean?
Sequoia is an English form of the Cherokee personal name ᏍᏏᏉᏯ (Sequoyah), which is commonly glossed as "sparrow." Cherokee is an Iroquoian language, historically spoken in the southeastern United States, so the name's origin is Cherokee even though Sequoia today is used mainly by English speakers. The precise Cherokee sense of the name is not firmly settled; the "sparrow" translation is the traditional one, but some accounts connect it to a bird generally rather than to one species, and the underlying word is not fully documented.
The form Sequoia is also the Latinized name of the redwood genus, coined in botanical nomenclature. In that use it is a dedication rather than a descriptive word: it does not translate to a feature of the tree but is a naming honor, so the genus name and the personal name share a single origin rather than two separate meanings.
Sequoia Name History & Origins
The name enters English through the Cherokee scholar and silversmith Sequoyah, whose Cherokee name is ᏍᏏᏉᏯ. He is credited with devising the Cherokee syllabary, a writing system for the Cherokee language completed in the 1810s and 1820s. He was also known in English as George Guess or George Gist. His Cherokee name is the source of the shorter English form now used as a given name.
In 1847 the Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher published the genus name Sequoia for the California coast redwood, generally understood as a tribute to Sequoyah. The coast redwood is Sequoia sempervirens, while the giant sequoia is placed in the related genus Sequoiadendron. English speakers later took up Sequoia as a personal name, drawing on both the historical Cherokee figure and the tree names.
As a given name, Sequoia is a modern English usage rather than an inherited traditional one. It appears in the United States for both boys and girls, and it is the kind of name taken into English from a Native American source and from botanical naming.
How Popular is the Name Sequoia?
Sequoia has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2002. Its best rank was #1,147 in 2002.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,987 | 97 | 0.0060% |
| 2024 | #2,450 | 74 | 0.0046% |
| 2023 | #2,306 | 80 | 0.0050% |
| 2022 | #2,100 | 92 | 0.0056% |
| 2021 | #2,282 | 81 | 0.0049% |
| 2020 | #2,275 | 79 | 0.0049% |
| 2019 | #2,065 | 92 | 0.0055% |
| 2018 | #2,400 | 76 | 0.0045% |
| 2017 | #2,316 | 80 | 0.0046% |
| 2016 | #2,732 | 64 | 0.0036% |
| 2015 | #2,470 | 74 | 0.0041% |
| 2014 | #2,578 | 69 | 0.0039% |
| 2013 | #2,898 | 59 | 0.0034% |
| 2012 | #2,562 | 71 | 0.0040% |
| 2011 | #2,661 | 67 | 0.0038% |
| 2010 | #2,402 | 79 | 0.0044% |
| 2009 | #2,588 | 72 | 0.0039% |
| 2008 | #2,395 | 81 | 0.0043% |
| 2007 | #2,014 | 102 | 0.0053% |
| 2006 | #1,956 | 103 | 0.0054% |
| 2005 | #1,875 | 104 | 0.0056% |
| 2004 | #1,515 | 134 | 0.0073% |
| 2003 | #1,409 | 142 | 0.0078% |
| 2002 | #1,147 | 181 | 0.0101% |
| 2001 | #1,410 | 135 | 0.0075% |
| 2000 | #1,630 | 109 | 0.0060% |
| 1999 | #1,704 | 97 | 0.0055% |
| 1998 | #1,663 | 97 | 0.0055% |
| 1997 | #1,677 | 94 | 0.0054% |
| 1996 | #1,652 | 93 | 0.0053% |
| 1995 | #1,501 | 106 | 0.0060% |
| 1994 | #1,661 | 91 | 0.0051% |
| 1993 | #1,458 | 110 | 0.0061% |
| 1992 | #1,446 | 111 | 0.0060% |
| 1991 | #2,031 | 68 | 0.0036% |
| 1990 | #1,614 | 93 | 0.0049% |
| 1989 | #1,767 | 77 | 0.0042% |
| 1988 | #1,719 | 75 | 0.0042% |
| 1987 | #1,659 | 74 | 0.0043% |
| 1986 | #2,106 | 51 | 0.0030% |
| 1985 | #2,311 | 44 | 0.0026% |
| 1984 | #2,139 | 47 | 0.0028% |
| 1983 | #3,407 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 1982 | #3,003 | 30 | 0.0018% |
| 1981 | #3,222 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 1980 | #4,112 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1979 | #2,916 | 30 | 0.0019% |
| 1978 | #5,481 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1977 | #3,886 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #4,549 | 14 | 0.0010% |
| 1975 | #8,806 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1974 | #6,745 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1973 | #5,134 | 11 | 0.0008% |
| 1971 | #8,124 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1958 | #6,857 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #6,395 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2024 | #8,196 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #5,416 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2022 | #6,094 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #4,471 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2020 | #5,194 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2019 | #5,753 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2018 | #7,533 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2017 | #5,076 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2016 | #6,660 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2015 | #6,612 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2014 | #6,567 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2013 | #6,555 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2012 | #8,041 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #7,964 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #6,310 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2009 | #6,038 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2008 | #6,011 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 2007 | #8,068 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2006 | #5,482 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2005 | #4,996 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2004 | #4,759 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2003 | #5,224 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #6,010 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2001 | #4,266 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2000 | #6,236 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1999 | #3,956 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1998 | #5,406 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1997 | #7,166 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1996 | #5,898 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1995 | #6,870 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1994 | #6,877 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1993 | #6,139 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #9,577 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #7,403 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #7,155 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #7,189 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #5,269 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #6,606 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1976 | #5,485 | 6 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Sequoia Shapes Your Personality and Life?
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✦ Sequoia's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Sequoia's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.