boys' name ★ peaked 2006

Saul

Meaning Borrowed from Old English Saul Gender Boy Rank 2025 #557 Trend → Stable

Borrowed from Old English Saul.

Rank 2025
#557
among boys · ↑2 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
535
named Saul · +1% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,193
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2006
1,120 babies
All-time total
43,362
#552 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Saul popularity over time

43,362 babies have been named Saul 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
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 – 87 87 9 – #427
1890s – 115 115 12 +32% #475
1900s – 245 245 25 +113% #377
1910s – 1,662 1,662 166 +578% #339
1920s – 1,996 1,996 200 +20% #398
1930s – 1,233 1,233 123 -38% #487
1940s – 972 972 97 -21% #610
1950s – 1,241 1,241 124 +28% #620
1960s – 1,519 1,519 152 +22% #565
1970s – 2,712 2,712 271 +79% #427
1980s 38 4,109 4,147 415 +53% #402
1990s 24 7,388 7,412 741 +79% #270
2000s 12 10,535 10,547 1,055 +42% #278
2010s – 6,315 6,315 632 -40% #379
2020s (to 2025) – 3,159 3,159 527 -17% #513

Where Saul is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 540 0.32 outside top 500
2027 544 0.32 outside top 500
2028 548 0.32 outside top 500
2029 551 0.32 outside top 500
2030 554 0.32 outside top 500

Where Saul is most popular

Boys named Saul per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.310 per 1,000. Strongest in New Mexico, Nevada, and Texas.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Saul 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Mexico 35 1.06 +243%
Nevada 42 0.737 +138%
Texas 648 0.735 +137%
Arizona 113 0.691 +123%
California 594 0.650 +110%
Oregon 32 0.422 +36%
Washington 62 0.379 +22%
Illinois 96 0.376 +21%
Colorado 43 0.333 +8%
New York 138 0.319 ≈ national
Georgia 76 0.300 ≈ national
Indiana 45 0.281 -9%
Florida 129 0.272 -12%
Oklahoma 24 0.271 -12%
New Jersey 54 0.268 -13%
Nebraska 10 0.230 -26%
Tennessee 40 0.222 -28%
Utah 20 0.210 -32%
Alabama 22 0.201 -35%
North Carolina 47 0.184 -41%
Maryland 21 0.176 -43%
Michigan 33 0.161 -48%
Virginia 30 0.158 -49%
Idaho 5 0.122 -61%
South Carolina 12 0.116 -63%
Wisconsin 13 0.110 -65%
Arkansas 6 0.095 -69%
Pennsylvania 24 0.090 -71%
Ohio 22 0.083 -73%
Missouri 11 0.079 -74%
Connecticut 5 0.074 -76%
Kansas 5 0.073 -76%
Kentucky 6 0.060 -81%
Louisiana 6 0.059 -81%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
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 Saul

Saul is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #557 in 2025 with 535 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 43,362 American babies have been named Saul. Its peak came in 2006, when 1,120 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

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 Saul stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Saul?

The median living Saul is about 24 years old; half are between 15 and 36. An estimated 36 thousand people named Saul are alive in the United States today.

median 24 020406080100

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

Saul 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 – – 535 #557
2024 – – 531 #559
2023 – – 515 #570
2022 – – 581 #513
2021 – – 513 #556
2020 – – 484 #575
2019 – – 538 #533
2018 – – 534 #531
2017 – – 605 #485
2016 – – 560 #527
2015 – – 592 #495
2014 – – 664 #450
2013 – – 656 #440
2012 – – 690 #414
2011 – – 715 #399
2010 – – 761 #379
2009 – – 867 #356
2008 – – 999 #329
2007 – – 1,070 #308
2006 – – 1,120 #298
2005 – – 1,113 #295
2004 6 #15,731 1,104 #289
2003 – – 1,072 #292
2002 – – 1,028 #289
2001 – – 1,103 #278
2000 6 #14,679 1,059 #287
1995 – – 713 #346
1990 7 #11,137 567 #409
1985 7 #9,076 408 #426
1980 5 #11,763 363 #432
1975 – – 279 #479
1970 – – 219 #551
1965 – – 167 #590
1960 – – 129 #694
1955 – – 118 #675
1950 – – 115 #650
1945 – – 85 #656
1940 – – 88 #640
1935 – – 109 #552
1930 – – 149 #487
1925 – – 206 #419
1920 – – 206 #415
1915 – – 207 #374
1910 – – 42 #419
1905 – – 12 #733
1900 – – 23 #487
1895 – – 13 #604
1890 – – 7 #870
1885 – – 11 #600
1880 – – 15 #476

Famous people named Saul

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

  1. 1 Saul Saul Biblical figure and Israelite monarch -1079–-1010 · Antiquity
  2. 2 Saul Rubinek Saul Rubinek Canadian actor & director (born 1948) Contemporary
  3. 3 Saul Williams Saul Williams American singer, poet, actor (born 1972) Contemporary
  4. 4 Saul Bellow Saul Bellow American writer (1915–2005) Contemporary
  5. 5 Saul Alinsky Saul Alinsky American activist and political theorist (1909–1972) Contemporary
  6. 6 Saul Bass Saul Bass American graphic designer (1920–1996) Contemporary
  7. 7 Saul Kripke Saul Kripke American philosopher and logician (1940–2022) Contemporary
  8. 8 Saul Zaentz Saul Zaentz American record company executive involved with Creedence Clearwater Revival 1921–2014 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Saul Steinberg Saul Steinberg Romanian-born American cartoonist (1914–1999) Contemporary
  10. 10 Saul Perlmutter Saul Perlmutter American astrophysicist and Nobel laureate (born 1959) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Saul?

The median living Saul is about 24 years old. Half of all living Sauls are between 15 and 36 years old.

How many people named Saul are alive today?

An estimated 36 thousand people named Saul are alive in the United States, based on 43,362 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Saul mean?

Borrowed from Old English Saul.

How popular is the name Saul in 2025?

Saul ranked #557 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 535 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Saul?

43,362 babies have been named Saul in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Saul most popular?

Saul peaked in 2006, when 1,120 newborns received the name.

Is Saul a boy or girl name?

Saul is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Saul rising or falling?

Saul has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Saul become more popular?

Saul looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 554 boys named Saul in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Saul?

Well-known people named Saul include Saul (religious figure), Saul Rubinek (actor), Saul Williams (musician).

Names like Saul

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

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