girls' name ★ peaked 1982

Sarah

Meaning lady, princess Gender Girl Rank 2025 #90 Trend ↓ Falling 17%

From Biblical Hebrew שָׂרָה (śārâ, “lady, princess”), from the Biblical figure originally named Sarai (שָׂרָי (śārāy, literally “masters, princes”)).

Rank 2025
#90
among girls · ↑3 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,710
named Sarah
How common
1 in 593
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1982
28,608 babies
All-time total
1,101,838
#10 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Sarah popularity over time

1,101,838 babies have been named Sarah 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
510152018801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 14,715 31 14,746 1,475 – #10
1890s 17,154 65 17,219 1,722 +17% #21
1900s 17,342 43 17,385 1,739 +1% #37
1910s 38,120 124 38,244 3,824 +120% #40
1920s 46,769 225 46,994 4,699 +23% #50
1930s 36,513 236 36,749 3,675 -22% #58
1940s 39,977 150 40,127 4,013 +9% #60
1950s 39,966 120 40,086 4,009 0% #88
1960s 43,913 149 44,062 4,406 +10% #72
1970s 118,823 438 119,261 11,926 +171% #6
1980s 272,637 1,120 273,757 27,376 +130% #4
1990s 224,423 358 224,781 22,478 -18% #3
2000s 124,545 226 124,771 12,477 -44% #5
2010s 46,657 46 46,703 4,670 -63% #26
2020s (to 2025) 16,944 9 16,953 2,826 -40% #86

Where Sarah 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 2,627 1.63 #99
2027 2,559 1.59 #104
2028 2,502 1.56 #109
2029 2,455 1.53 #112
2030 2,415 1.50 #114

Where Sarah is most popular

Girls named Sarah per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.71 per 1,000. Strongest in New York, New Jersey, and Alaska.

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 Sarah 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 York 1,928 4.87 +185%
New Jersey 870 4.82 +182%
Alaska 33 3.83 +124%
Florida 1,180 2.76 +61%
Massachusetts 318 2.63 +54%
Alabama 235 2.50 +46%
Vermont 12 2.48 +45%
Maryland 254 2.40 +40%
North Dakota 31 2.36 +38%
South Carolina 212 2.36 +38%
Pennsylvania 557 2.36 +38%
Connecticut 132 2.27 +33%
Virginia 378 2.22 +30%
Kentucky 184 2.15 +26%
Georgia 466 2.05 +20%
Delaware 23 2.03 +19%
Mississippi 92 1.97 +15%
Kansas 109 1.89 +10%
Utah 155 1.86 +9%
Rhode Island 23 1.84 +7%
North Carolina 418 1.84 +7%
Missouri 220 1.83 +7%
Texas 1,452 1.81 +6%
New Mexico 43 1.77 ≈ national
Tennessee 272 1.72 ≈ national
Washington 247 1.71 ≈ national
Illinois 385 1.68 ≈ national
Arizona 232 1.65 ≈ national
New Hampshire 29 1.57 -8%
California 1,319 1.57 -8%
Nevada 72 1.55 -9%
Iowa 90 1.54 -10%
District of Columbia 18 1.52 -11%
Louisiana 132 1.51 -12%
Ohio 354 1.49 -13%
Oregon 95 1.46 -15%
Arkansas 77 1.46 -15%
Colorado 161 1.44 -16%
Michigan 262 1.44 -16%
Idaho 47 1.40 -18%
Indiana 194 1.38 -19%
West Virginia 34 1.30 -24%
Wisconsin 130 1.26 -26%
Minnesota 136 1.26 -26%
Hawaii 14 1.22 -29%
Wyoming 5 1.17 -31%
Oklahoma 86 1.17 -32%
Nebraska 36 1.00 -41%
Maine 15 0.970 -43%
Montana 13 0.960 -44%
South Dakota 13 0.911 -47%

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 Sarah

Sarah is a top-100 name for girls in the United States, ranked #90 in 2025 with 2,710 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 1,101,838 American babies have been named Sarah. Its peak came in 1982, when 28,608 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 Sarah stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Sarah?

The median living Sarah is about 37 years old; half are between 27 and 45. An estimated 900 thousand people named Sarah are alive in the United States today.

median 37 020406080100

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

Sarah 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 2,710 #90 – –
2024 2,719 #93 – –
2023 2,771 #91 – –
2022 2,809 #95 – –
2021 2,865 #91 – –
2020 3,070 #86 9 #8,612
2019 3,325 #81 – –
2018 3,781 #66 – –
2017 4,036 #62 6 #11,973
2016 4,429 #57 9 #8,689
2015 4,535 #57 10 #7,938
2014 4,717 #50 – –
2013 4,715 #48 5 #13,715
2012 5,207 #42 6 #12,018
2011 5,571 #39 5 #13,984
2010 6,341 #26 5 #13,906
2009 7,794 #21 12 #7,157
2008 9,055 #20 17 #5,449
2007 10,014 #18 13 #6,546
2006 11,161 #15 17 #5,266
2005 11,555 #15 18 #4,792
2004 12,758 #12 53 #2,205
2003 13,785 #11 26 #3,507
2002 14,779 #8 22 #3,890
2001 15,929 #6 22 #3,823
2000 17,715 #5 26 #3,282
1995 21,395 #5 34 #2,340
1990 25,824 #6 57 #1,514
1985 24,879 #5 101 #904
1980 25,757 #5 84 #986
1975 11,170 #17 46 #1,275
1970 5,614 #65 16 #2,387
1965 4,062 #92 17 #1,979
1960 4,205 #116 13 #2,409
1955 3,979 #108 16 #2,035
1950 4,143 #88 11 #2,421
1945 3,592 #76 10 #2,375
1940 3,869 #60 24 #1,394
1935 3,615 #61 19 #1,644
1930 3,920 #70 28 #1,393
1925 4,685 #58 24 #1,573
1920 5,031 #50 14 #2,321
1915 4,415 #51 15 #1,951
1910 2,173 #40 6 #1,558
1905 1,762 #41 5 #1,397
1900 2,054 #37 5 #1,476
1895 1,777 #33 8 #860
1890 1,786 #21 5 #1,136
1885 1,424 #18 7 #824
1880 1,288 #10 – –

Famous people named Sarah

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

  1. 1 Sarah Paulson Sarah Paulson American actress (born 1974) Contemporary
  2. 2 Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker American actress (born 1965) Contemporary
  3. 3 Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Gellar American actress (born 1977) Contemporary
  4. 4 Sarah Silverman Sarah Silverman American comedian and actress (born 1970) Contemporary
  5. 5 Sarah Chalke Sarah Chalke Canadian actress (born 1976) Contemporary
  6. 6 Sarah Hyland Sarah Hyland American actress and singer (born 1990) Contemporary
  7. 7 Sarah Palin Sarah Palin American politician (born 1964) Contemporary
  8. 8 Sarah Rafferty Sarah Rafferty American actress b. 1972 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Sarah Polley Sarah Polley Canadian actress, film director, and screenwriter (born 1979) Contemporary
  10. 10 Sarah Drew Sarah Drew American actress (born 1980) Contemporary
  11. 11 Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman English pop and classical soprano singer (born 1960) Contemporary
  12. 12 Sarah Baartman Sarah Baartman Khoikhoi woman (c. 1789–1815) 1788–1815 · 18th century
  13. 13 Sarah, Duchess of York Sarah, Duchess of York British former royal and author (born 1959) Contemporary
  14. 14 Sarah Wayne Callies Sarah Wayne Callies American actress b. 1977 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Sarah Sarah Biblical matriarch -1803–-1676 · Antiquity
  16. 16 Sarah Clarke Sarah Clarke American actress b. 1972 · Contemporary
  17. 17 Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt French stage actress (1844–1923) 19th century
  18. 18 Sarah Carter Sarah Carter Actor, Director, Producer b. 1980 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Sarah Miles Sarah Miles English actress (born 1941) Contemporary
  20. 20 Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough English courtier, noblewoman and politician (1660–1744) 17th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Sarah?

The median living Sarah is about 37 years old. Half of all living Sarahs are between 27 and 45 years old.

How many people named Sarah are alive today?

An estimated 900 thousand people named Sarah are alive in the United States, based on 1,101,838 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Sarah mean?

From Biblical Hebrew שָׂרָה (śārâ, “lady, princess”), from the Biblical figure originally named Sarai (שָׂרָי (śārāy, literally “masters, princes”)).

How popular is the name Sarah in 2025?

Sarah ranked #90 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,710 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Sarah?

1,101,838 babies have been named Sarah in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Sarah most popular?

Sarah peaked in 1982, when 28,608 newborns received the name.

Is Sarah a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Sarah rising or falling?

Sarah is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Sarah become more popular?

Sarah is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,415 girls named Sarah in 2030, which would rank around #114. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Sarah?

Well-known people named Sarah include Sarah Paulson (actor), Sarah Jessica Parker (actor), Sarah Michelle Gellar (actor).

Names like Sarah

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

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