George Costanza would be hot; someone stole ‘Seven.’ She’s a great soccer player
George is gettin’ upset!
“I defy you to come up with a better name than ‘Seven,’” George Costanza declared.
Not only is Seven a beautiful name, it works as a living tribute to the late New York Yankees outfielder, Mickey Mantle.
Mantle is real, Constanza is not, but there is someone named Seven who was born after the TV show “Seinfeld” episode “The Seven” aired on Feb. 1, 1996. Considering how often pop culture influences baby names, this is one hell of a coincidence.
Seven Castain is a senior forward for the TCU women’s soccer team, and her parents didn’t steal the name from the Seinfeld character, George. Nor were they inspired by it, which will not prevent sports journalists from capitalizing on the chance to revisit a great show.
Seven and her teammates will play in the Big 12 women’s soccer tournament, which begins at 11:30 a.m. Monday with the first of four matches at TCU’s Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.
“I was never made fun of for it; adults will ask me, ‘What’s your name?’ and when I say it, they say, ‘Not your age, your name,’” Castain said in a phone interview.
Castain’s first name is a result of a globally popular NBC sitcom, but not the one titled, “The Seven.” Rather it’s “The One Where Rachel Has a Baby.”
Because Seven is a name with cachet, baby! It’s got cachet up the yin-yang.
Seinfield’s Seven
From 1989 to ‘98, “Seinfeld” was the must-see TV cultural phenomenon that created sayings and phrases that became part of the American lexicon.
“Master of my domain.” “No soup for you!” “Shrinkage.” “Festivus.” “Anti-dentite.” “Close talker.” The list is impressively long that generations of Americans immediately know what these terms mean. Down the list, but on it, is “Seven.”
In the episode, actor Jason Alexander’s “George” argues with his finacee, Susan, that Seven is an ideal name for their future child. Susan hated it.
In an exchange with Jerry Seinfeld, George asks his friend to come up with a better name.
“Seven? Yeah, I guess I could see it. Seven. Seven periods of school, seven beatings a day,” Jerry said. “Roughly seven stitches a beating, and eventually seven years to life. Yeah, you’re doing that child quite a service.”
Mantle died in 1995, so he was never able to join the list of Yankees who were included in the sitcom.
Eight years after “The Seven” aired, Seven was born.
Seven Castain’s knowledge of ‘Seinfeld’
Castain was born in 2004, and her familiarity with a TV show is limited since Seinfeld signed off in ‘98.
Star-Telegram: Do you know the name George Costanza?
Castain: The name sounds familiar, but I don’t think so.
S-T: Have you ever watched the TV show “Seinfeld?”
Castain: I’ve never seen it, but every now and then someone will ask me about it, or tell me about it.
Her parents were originally inclined to give her a name whose popularity was heavily influenced by another NBC show.
“They were supposed to name me ‘Emma,’” Castain said. “It was in the Top Names of the year because of the show ‘Friends.’”
Emma Geller-Green was the daughter of the characters Ross and Rachel, played by David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston. The episode where it was revealed Aniston’s character was pregnant aired in 2001; in 2003, according to BabyCenter.com, ‘Emma’ was the second-most popular name for a girl.
“We’ve been asked hundreds of times about if the name is from ‘Seinfeld,’” said Seven’s father, Daren Castain. “We had a very hard time [conceiving], and when we were able to it was about ‘Lucky.’ She completed our family.
“When it came out that ‘Emma’ was the top baby name of the year, my wife, Heidi, said no to that. So the TV show that really influenced this was ‘Friends.’ It wasn’t ‘Seinfeld.’”
In 1996, “Seven” was not among the Top 100 most popular names. No different than 2025.
She was not named for Mickey Mantle. Or George Costanza. But, she wasn’t named for the seven deadly sins, either, so that’s a plus.
Aside from a name that stands out, Seven Castain was all-conference in 2024, and is the leading scorer for a team ranked fifth in the nation. She’s an aspiring novelist who hopes to play pro soccer before embarking on that endeavor.
She’s far more apt to be known for her ability as a soccer player, or a writer, rather than her obscure, funny tie to a TV show that was popular throughout the 1990s, and endures with its loyal fans.
“I love it. I wouldn’t want any other name,” she said. “It’s very fitting for me.”
And it’s a better name than Emma ... or Soda.
This story was originally published November 3, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
