The name is found in the Old Testament, the Book of Mormon, the Qu’ran and in ancient Egyptian mythology, though the later may have a completely different etymology.

In both the Bible and the Qu’ran it is borne by the son of Adam and Eve, who was borne after the murder of Abel and the banishment of Cain. In this case, it may be derived from the Hebrew (syt) meaning “plant; seed” or it may be from another Hebrew source meaning “appointed.”

In the Book of Mormon, it is borne by the son of Lehi a Jaredite.

In Egyptian mythology it is the name of the god of chaos, the desert, foreigners and of the planet Mars. In this case, the etymology is uncertain.

Currently, Seth is the 165th most popular male name in the United States (2010) and the 217th most popular in the Netherlands, (2010).

Other forms of its Biblical counterpart include:

• Shith  شيث‎ (Arabic)
• Şeys (Azeri)
• Set Сэт (Belarusian/Finnish/German/Italian/Russian/Scandinavian/Spanish)
• Sif Сіф (Belarusian)
• Šit (Bosnian)
• Šet (Croatian/Czech/Serbian)
• Seth Σηθ (Dutch/English/Greek/French/Plattdeutsch/Polish)
• Sett (Estonian)
• Shet  שֵׁת (Hebrew)
• Séth (Hungarian)
• Szet (Polish)
• Sete (Portuguese)
• Šét (Slovak)