girls' name ★ peaked 1981

Sara

Meaning Sarah is a common feminine given name of Hebrew origin Gender Girl Rank 2025 #198 Trend → Stable

Sarah is a common feminine given name of Hebrew origin.

Rank 2025
#198
among girls · ↓11 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,568
named Sara · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,025
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1981
11,391 babies
All-time total
437,441
#83 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Sara popularity over time

437,441 babies have been named Sara since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 2,127 – 2,127 213 – #110
1890s 3,119 – 3,119 312 +47% #127
1900s 4,210 5 4,215 422 +35% #127
1910s 15,409 23 15,432 1,543 +266% #106
1920s 21,101 64 21,165 2,117 +37% #111
1930s 18,261 105 18,366 1,837 -13% #123
1940s 20,275 60 20,335 2,034 +11% #122
1950s 20,491 35 20,526 2,053 +1% #147
1960s 23,044 61 23,105 2,311 +13% #124
1970s 56,958 202 57,160 5,716 +147% #27
1980s 104,682 438 105,120 10,512 +84% #26
1990s 72,170 150 72,320 7,232 -31% #34
2000s 44,056 82 44,138 4,414 -39% #57
2010s 20,732 12 20,744 2,074 -53% #119
2020s (to 2025) 9,558 11 9,569 1,595 -23% #178

Where Sara is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 1,563 0.97 #199
2027 1,559 0.97 #199
2028 1,556 0.97 #200
2029 1,553 0.97 #200
2030 1,551 0.96 #200

Where Sara is most popular

Girls named Sara per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.984 per 1,000. Strongest in New Jersey, New York, and District of Columbia.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Sara born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Jersey 880 4.88 +396%
New York 1,219 3.08 +213%
District of Columbia 21 1.77 +80%
Maryland 163 1.54 +56%
Alabama 122 1.30 +32%
Virginia 214 1.26 +28%
Florida 520 1.22 +24%
South Carolina 102 1.13 +15%
Illinois 255 1.11 +13%
Connecticut 64 1.10 +12%
Nebraska 39 1.08 +10%
Texas 865 1.08 +9%
Massachusetts 130 1.08 +9%
Washington 155 1.07 +9%
California 897 1.07 +8%
Georgia 239 1.05 +7%
Mississippi 49 1.05 +6%
Pennsylvania 231 0.977 ≈ national
North Carolina 211 0.927 -6%
Iowa 52 0.890 -10%
Ohio 210 0.885 -10%
Tennessee 133 0.840 -15%
Arizona 116 0.827 -16%
Michigan 150 0.824 -16%
Kansas 46 0.797 -19%
Colorado 88 0.788 -20%
Kentucky 67 0.783 -20%
Oregon 51 0.783 -20%
Minnesota 83 0.769 -22%
Arkansas 40 0.757 -23%
New Mexico 18 0.740 -25%
Nevada 33 0.710 -28%
Utah 54 0.649 -34%
Indiana 91 0.648 -34%
Louisiana 54 0.617 -37%
Wisconsin 63 0.612 -38%
Missouri 72 0.597 -39%
Oklahoma 43 0.584 -41%
Delaware 5 0.441 -55%
Rhode Island 5 0.399 -59%
North Dakota 5 0.380 -61%
West Virginia 5 0.191 -81%
Idaho 5 0.149 -85%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
New Hampshire – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Sara

Sara is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #198 in 2025 with 1,568 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 437,441 American babies have been named Sara. Its peak came in 1981, when 11,391 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Sara stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Sara?

The median living Sara is about 39 years old; half are between 28 and 48. An estimated 359 thousand people named Sara are alive in the United States today.

median 39 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Sara year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 1,568 #198 – –
2024 1,612 #187 5 #13,890
2023 1,602 #188 – –
2022 1,680 #178 – –
2021 1,519 #197 6 #11,891
2020 1,577 #183 – –
2019 1,746 #163 – –
2018 1,718 #170 – –
2017 1,887 #158 – –
2016 2,041 #152 – –
2015 1,982 #161 – –
2014 1,972 #166 7 #10,529
2013 2,093 #153 – –
2012 2,261 #142 – –
2011 2,396 #130 – –
2010 2,636 #119 5 #13,905
2009 3,044 #106 – –
2008 3,595 #92 7 #10,825
2007 4,024 #80 5 #14,032
2006 4,411 #72 8 #9,416
2005 4,285 #75 10 #7,552
2004 4,507 #68 24 #3,837
2003 4,764 #65 5 #12,431
2002 4,945 #59 5 #12,173
2001 5,156 #58 7 #9,058
2000 5,325 #57 11 #6,234
1995 6,697 #48 8 #6,869
1990 8,979 #34 28 #2,478
1985 10,562 #30 46 #1,478
1980 11,148 #27 44 #1,445
1975 5,131 #54 12 #3,206
1970 3,060 #126 12 #2,861
1965 1,973 #178 8 #3,206
1960 2,037 #186 – –
1955 1,973 #177 – –
1950 2,059 #147 6 #3,631
1945 1,803 #135 – –
1940 2,087 #122 9 #2,649
1935 1,773 #128 9 #2,686
1930 1,770 #134 11 #2,579
1925 2,032 #133 5 #4,774
1920 2,364 #111 9 #3,171
1915 1,913 #106 9 #2,793
1910 633 #128 – –
1905 437 #137 – –
1900 375 #157 – –
1895 363 #127 – –
1890 262 #137 – –
1885 215 #121 – –
1880 165 #110 – –

Famous people named Sara

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Sara Gilbert Sara Gilbert American actress (born 1975) Contemporary
  2. 2 Sara Paxton Sara Paxton American actress (born 1988) Contemporary
  3. 3 Sara Bareilles Sara Bareilles American singer, songwriter, and actress (born 1979) Contemporary
  4. 4 Sara Ramirez Sara Ramirez Mexican-American actor (born 1975) Contemporary
  5. 5 Sara Rue Sara Rue American actress (born 1979) Contemporary
  6. 6 Sara Sampaio Sara Sampaio Portuguese actress and model (born 1991) Contemporary
  7. 7 Sara Foster Sara Foster American actress (born 1981) Contemporary
  8. 8 Sara Jean Underwood Sara Jean Underwood American model (born 1984) Contemporary
  9. 9 Sara Errani Sara Errani Italian tennis player (born 1987) Contemporary
  10. 10 Sara Canning Sara Canning Canadian actress (born 1987) Contemporary
  11. 11 Sara Carbonero Sara Carbonero Spanish journalist (born 1984) Contemporary
  12. 12 Sara Malakul Lane Sara Malakul Lane Thai-American actress and former model b. 1983 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Sara Montiel Sara Montiel Spanish actress and singer (1928–2013) Contemporary
  14. 14 Sara Teasdale Sara Teasdale American writer and poet (1884–1933) 19th century
  15. 15 Sara Shepard Sara Shepard American author b. 1977 · Contemporary
  16. 16 Sara Allgood Sara Allgood Irish actress (1880–1950) 1879–1950 · 19th century
  17. 17 Sara Paretsky Sara Paretsky American author of detective fiction b. 1947 · Contemporary
  18. 18 Sara Seager Sara Seager Canadian astronomer b. 1971 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Sara Maldonado Sara Maldonado Mexican actress b. 1980 · Contemporary
  20. 20 Sara Tavares Sara Tavares Portuguese singer-songwriter (1978–2023) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Sara, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Sara?

The median living Sara is about 39 years old. Half of all living Saras are between 28 and 48 years old.

How many people named Sara are alive today?

An estimated 359 thousand people named Sara are alive in the United States, based on 437,441 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Sara mean?

Sarah is a common feminine given name of Hebrew origin.

How popular is the name Sara in 2025?

Sara ranked #198 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,568 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Sara?

437,441 babies have been named Sara in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Sara most popular?

Sara peaked in 1981, when 11,391 newborns received the name.

Is Sara a boy or girl name?

Sara is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Sara rising or falling?

Sara has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Sara become more popular?

Sara looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,551 girls named Sara in 2030, ranking around #200. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Sara?

Well-known people named Sara include Sara Gilbert (actor), Sara Paxton (actor), Sara Bareilles (actor).

Names like Sara

Names that sound and feel close to Sara: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Sara with similar names → More names starting with S →