How popular is the baby name Sarah in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Sarah.

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Popularity of the baby name Sarah


Posts that mention the name Sarah

Popular baby names in Liechtenstein, 2021

Flag of Liechtenstein
Flag of Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein, one of the smallest countries in Europe, is located in the Alps (sandwiched between Austria and Switzerland).

Last year, Liechtenstein welcomed 375 babies — 181 girls and 194 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emilia/Frida/Mia (3-way tie) and Elias.

Here are Liechtenstein’s top girl names and top boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Emilia, Frida/Frieda, and Mia, 4 baby girls each (3-way tie)
  2. Emma, Melina, and Sophia/Sofia, 3 each (3-way tie)
  3. Alicia, Alina, Anna, Aria, Ariana/Arianna, Aurora, Chiara, Elea, Elin, Emily, Hannah, Helena, Jana, Ladina, Leonie, Lina, Mara, Maria, Milena, Mina, and Noelia, 2 each (21-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Elias/Elyas, 7 baby boys
  2. Louis/Luis, 6
  3. Leo, 5
  4. Noah and Paul, 4 each (tie)
  5. Leano, Luca, Mattia, Nelio, Raphael/Rafael, and Valentin, 3 each (6-way tie)
  6. Benedict/Benedikt, Benjamin, Eliah/Elijah, Eric/Erik, Gion, James, Janik, Julian, Lenny, Levin, Lionel, Lucas/Lukas, Mael, Matteo, Maximilian, Nicklas/Niklas, Oliver, and Ömer, 2 each (18-way tie)

The rest of the names were bestowed just once:

Unique girl names (118)Unique boy names (114)
Ada, Adora, Aflah, Aida, Aileen, Akila, Alessia, Alexandra, Alia, Alizée, Alma, Amalia, Ambra, Amela, Amélie, Amina, Amra, Ana, Aniko, Anila, Anina, Annika, Antonia, Asalia, Ava, Aynara, Calissa, Carla, Carmen, Catalina, Cecilia, Céline, Charlotte, Clea, Darja, Désirée, Diana, Diona, Dorothea, Dua-Lea, Ela, Elena, Elenia, Eleonora, Elif, Elina, Eline, Elise, Ena, Evi, Finja, Gabriella, Gea, Grace, Hailey, Haley, Hava, Heidi, Hindiya, Hylkije, Ina, Jara, Johanna, Josepa, Josephine, Julia, Juliana, Juna, Künkyi, Lailah, Lanah, Lara, Lea, Leila, Lelle, Lena, Leni, Lia, Liara, Lillia, Lily, Lorena, Lounah, Luisa, Malea, Marie, Maya, Mayte, Medina, Mejra, Melissa, Meryem, Mila, Mirella, Mona, Nadine, Naima, Nayla, Nevia, Niva, Nóra, Nurcan, Patrizia, Romina, Ronja, Rosa, Ruby, Sarah, Saskia, Serena, Siena, Svea, Theresia, Yara, Ylvie, Zana, Zeyneb, ZoeAaron, Adrian, Ajan, Akira, Alessio, Alexis, Ali, Alparslan, Alvaro, Ammar, Anton, Arion, Arjen, Aron, Arthur, Aurel, Aurelio, Ayman, Azad, Benno, Björn, Byron, Conradin, Dario, Dayan, Din, Eddie, Ediz, Elliot, Elvis, Emanuel, Emiel, Emil, Emilian, Erlis, Felix, Finn, Florian, Francesco, Gabriel, Gael, Grégory, Gustav, Henrik, Henry, Jakob, Jan, Jari, Jemin, Jonas, Joris, Julius, Juri, Justin, Karl, Kenan, Kian, Korab, Kunga, Laurin, Leandro, Leon, Levi, Liam, Lian, Liano, Linard, Lino, Lio, Louie, Luar, Mailo, Maleo, Malik, Marcelo, Matin, Matti, Mauro, Max, Metehan, Mikkel, Milo, Miro, Musab, Nathan, Neo, Nevio, Nils, Noam, Noar, Noel, Norden, Quentin, Richard, Rocco, Romeo, Rron, Samuel, Sandro, Santiago, Sava, Tenzin, Theo, Tiago, Tim, Timéo, Timo, Tobia, Vinzenz, Vitus, Xaver, Yakari, Yannick, Yannis

Some thoughts on a few of the above…

  • Künkyi and Tenzin are Tibetan.
  • Nevia and Nevio are Italian. They derive from the Roman family name Naevius, which was based on the Latin word naevus, meaning “birthmark” or “mole (on the body).”
  • Rron is an Albanian. It was created from the word rronj, a dialectal form of rroj, which means “to live, to survive.”

Finally, here’s a link to Liechtenstein’s 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Source: Neugeborenennamen 2021 – Statistikportal Liechtenstein

Image: Adapted from Flag of Liechtenstein (public domain)

Where did the baby name Salimah come from in 1969?

Salimah Aga Khan and Karim Aga Khan (in 1969)
Salimah Aga Khan & Karim Aga Khan

The names Salima and Salimah popped up for the first time in the U.S. baby name data in 1969:

Girls named SalimaGirls named Salimah
19717.
19705.
19696*5*
1968..
1967..
*Debut

The masculine form of the name, Salim (also spelled Saleem), had emerged in the data earlier in the ’60s. But this doesn’t account for the sudden appearance of both Salima and Salimah.

What does?

A royal wedding!

In October of 1969, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV — the Imam of the Nizari branch of Ismaili Muslims — married British divorcée and former fashion model Lady Sarah Crichton-Stuart. (She’d been born in British India in 1940 as Sarah “Sally” Croker Poole.)

With her second marriage — and conversion to Islam — came another name change: Salimah Aga Khan. (She continued to go by the nickname Sally, though.)

Some news outlets misspelled the new name “Salima,” which is likely why this version also debuted in 1969.

The Muslim names Salim and Salimah derive from the Arabic root s-l-m, meaning “to be safe, secure.”

Do you like the name Salimah?

Sources:

P.S. Several decades earlier, the Aga Khan’s younger half-sister, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, also had a slight influence on U.S. baby names…

Popular baby names in France, 2021

Flag of France
Flag of France

Did you know that France is the most-visited tourist destination in the world?

Last year, the country welcomed about 738,000 babies. The most popular names among these babies were Jade (pronounced zhahd) and Gabriel.

Here are France’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Jade, 3,802 baby girls
  2. Louise, 3,768
  3. Emma, 3,202
  4. Ambre, 3,017
  5. Alice, 2,769
  6. Rose, 2,703
  7. Anna, 2,515
  8. Alba, 2,504
  9. Romy, 2,446
  10. Mia, 2,430
  11. Lina, 2,366
  12. Lou, 2,222
  13. Julia, 2,212
  14. Chloé, 2,210
  15. Léna, 2,093
  16. Léa, 2,039
  17. Agathe, 2,020
  18. Iris, 2,006
  19. Nina, 1,896
  20. Juliette, 1,870
  21. Inaya, 1,867 – an Urdu name derived from the Arabic word inayah, meaning “care, concern.”
  22. Zoé, 1,840
  23. Jeanne, 1,727
  24. Léonie, 1,726
  25. Charlie, 1,725
  26. Eva, 1,709
  27. Mila, 1,706
  28. Luna, 1,686
  29. Adèle, 1,661
  30. Victoire, 1,648
  31. Inès, 1,594
  32. Olivia, 1,594
  33. Lola, 1,547
  34. Victoria, 1,537
  35. Lucie, 1,493
  36. Margaux, 1,472
  37. Romane, 1,458
  38. Giulia, 1,454
  39. Camille, 1,428
  40. Sofia, 1,381
  41. Charlotte, 1,352
  42. Alix, 1,349
  43. Nour, 1,274
  44. Lyana, 1,237
  45. Margot, 1,225
  46. Sarah, 1,214
  47. Louna, 1,209 – likely based on Luna (#28).
  48. Mya, 1,182
  49. Manon, 1,177
  50. Lya, 1,158

Boy Names

  1. Gabriel, 4,974 baby boys
  2. Léo, 4,358
  3. Raphaël, 3,957
  4. Louis, 3,715
  5. Arthur, 3,598
  6. Jules, 3,594
  7. Maël, 3,438
  8. Noah, 3,384
  9. Adam, 3,148
  10. Lucas, 3,054
  11. Hugo, 2,905
  12. Gabin, 2,719 – based on the Latin name Gabinus, which might have referred to the ancient city of Gabii (located in what is now central Italy).
  13. Liam, 2,672
  14. Sacha, 2,628
  15. Aaron, 2,496
  16. Léon, 2,362
  17. Isaac, 2,322
  18. Paul, 2,291
  19. Nathan, 2,286
  20. Noé, 2,276
  21. Eden, 2,260
  22. Mohamed, 2,183
  23. Ethan, 2,104
  24. Tom, 1,995
  25. Malo, 1,935 – a Breton name probably derived from the Old Breton elements mach, meaning “pledge, hostage,” and lou, meaning “luminous; beautiful.”
  26. Naël, 1,919
  27. Théo, 1,902
  28. Marius, 1,868
  29. Nino, 1,838
  30. Marceau, 1,834
  31. Mathis, 1,801
  32. Victor, 1,768
  33. Ayden, 1,753
  34. Milo, 1,723
  35. Martin, 1,712
  36. Tiago, 1,658
  37. Robin, 1,657
  38. Axel, 1,571
  39. Timéo, 1,541
  40. Eliott, 1,538 (tie)
  41. Lyam, 1,538 (tie)
  42. Enzo, 1,503
  43. Antoine, 1,445
  44. Nolan, 1,439
  45. Augustin, 1,430
  46. Gaspard, 1,379
  47. Valentin, 1,362
  48. Amir, 1,309
  49. Samuel, 1,301
  50. Côme, 1,300 – (pronounced kohm, as in the brand name Lancôme) the French form of Cosmas, ultimately derived from the ancient Greek word kosmos, meaning “order.”

The girls’ top 100 included Capucine (52nd), Apolline (65th), Thaïs (82nd), and Garance (98th).

The boys’ top 100 included Sohan (55th), Kaïs (58th), Soan (66th), and Livio (81st).

Soan, a variant spelling of Sohan, has been popularized recently by French singer/songwriter Soan (born Julien Decroix).

Also on the boys’ list, Charly (#78) pulled ahead of Charlie (#90) after the names saw nearly identical levels of usage in 2020. I wonder if this means that Charly is emerging as the preferred male spelling of the name…?

Gabriel also topped the rankings for the capital city of Paris last year. Jade, on the other hand, didn’t even make the top 10 — it was way down in 32nd place.

Finally, here are France’s 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Classement des prénoms en France depuis 1900 – Insee, Demography report 2021 – Insee, World Tourism rankings – Wikipedia, Behind the Name, Malo (saint) – Wikipeda

Image: Adapted from Flag of France (public domain)

Popular baby names in Austin (Texas), 2017

Flag of Texas
Flag of Texas

A few days ago, I stumbled upon a set of baby name data for Austin, Texas, for the year 2017. While it isn’t current, it does seem to be complete — so it includes hundreds of rare and single-use names (which are always fascinating!).

The data accounts for nearly 19,900 births (9,733 girls and 10,163 boys), and features nearly 6,100 names (3,431 given to girls, 2,656 given to boys).

According to this data, which comes from the City of Austin’s Open Data Portal, the top baby names in the capital of Texas five years ago were Emma and James.

Here are Austin’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 98 baby girls
  2. Isabella, 88
  3. Olivia, 84
  4. Mia, 81
  5. Evelyn, 77
  6. Sophia, 75
  7. Ava, 73
  8. Abigail, 59 (tie)
  9. Charlotte, 59 (tie)
  10. Emily, 58
  11. Camila, 56 (tie)
  12. Elizabeth, 56 (tie)
  13. Harper, 53
  14. Amelia, 52
  15. Penelope, 51 (tie)
  16. Sofia, 51 (tie)
  17. Scarlett, 46
  18. Ella, 45
  19. Avery, 43 (tie)
  20. Zoe, 43 (tie)
  21. Lillian, 41
  22. Layla, 40 (tie)
  23. Madison, 40 (tie)
  24. Eleanor, 39
  25. Victoria, 38
  26. Allison, 37
  27. Claire, 36 (3-way tie)
  28. Elena, 36 (3-way tie)
  29. Luna, 36 (3-way tie)
  30. Aria, 35 (tie)
  31. Chloe, 35 (tie)
  32. Ellie, 34 (tie)
  33. Katherine, 34 (tie)
  34. Samantha, 33
  35. Hannah, 30 (4-way tie)
  36. Hazel, 30 (4-way tie)
  37. Mila, 30 (4-way tie)
  38. Stella, 30 (4-way tie)
  39. Leah, 29
  40. Cora, 28 (5-way tie)
  41. Genesis, 28 (5-way tie)
  42. Grace, 28 (5-way tie)
  43. Natalie, 28 (5-way tie)
  44. Ximena, 28 (5-way tie)
  45. Clara, 27 (3-way tie)
  46. Eliana, 27 (3-way tie)
  47. Ruby, 27 (3-way tie)
  48. Audrey, 26 (tie)
  49. Sarah, 26 (tie)
  50. Alexa, 25 (3-way tie)
  51. Everly, 25 (3-way tie)
  52. Lily, 25 (3-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. James, 104 baby boys
  2. Noah, 85
  3. Daniel, 83
  4. Benjamin, 82
  5. William, 80
  6. Oliver, 75
  7. Liam, 74
  8. Alexander, 73
  9. Sebastian, 70
  10. Henry, 67
  11. Elijah, 66 (tie)
  12. Mateo, 66 (tie)
  13. Ethan, 65
  14. Jackson, 63
  15. Anthony, 61
  16. Jacob, 60
  17. Aiden, 59 (tie)
  18. Luke, 59 (tie)
  19. David, 58 (tie)
  20. Samuel, 58 (tie)
  21. John, 56
  22. Isaac, 55 (tie)
  23. Julian, 55 (tie)
  24. Michael, 54
  25. Charles, 53 (3-way tie)
  26. Jack, 53 (3-way tie)
  27. Matthew, 53 (3-way tie)
  28. Jose, 52 (tie)
  29. Joshua, 52 (tie)
  30. Wyatt, 50
  31. Aaron, 49 (4-way tie)
  32. Grayson, 49 (4-way tie)
  33. Joseph, 49 (4-way tie)
  34. Levi, 49 (4-way tie)
  35. Dylan, 48
  36. Hudson, 47
  37. Josiah, 46 (3-way tie)
  38. Logan, 46 (3-way tie)
  39. Santiago, 46 (3-way tie)
  40. Jayden, 45
  41. Nathan, 44
  42. Christopher, 43 (tie)
  43. Thomas, 43 (tie)
  44. Andrew, 42 (4-way tie)
  45. Gabriel, 42 (4-way tie)
  46. Luis, 42 (4-way tie)
  47. Owen, 42 (4-way tie)
  48. Lucas, 41
  49. Adrian, 40 (3-way tie)
  50. Axel, 40 (3-way tie)
  51. Christian, 40 (3-way tie)

On the girls’ list, Allison caught my eye. It ranked 26th in Austin in 2017, but 61st nationally the same year. Interesting.

Further down on the boys’ list was Austin itself, in 95th place — vs. 75th nationally — with 21 baby boys. Much further down was Texas, with 2 baby boys.

And now it’s time for the unique names!

One-of-a-kind names were given to 24% of the baby girls and 17% of the baby boys born in Austin in 2017. Here’s a sampling of the names that were bestowed just once:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Aubrion, Autry, Blue Jay, Cadeau, Ceiba, Dulceluna, Eeriemoon, Fiza, Gilana, Holleen, Itzigueri, Jill, Kasleen, Lillabee, L’Oreal, Mauzie, Millioni, Nincye, Nobelina, Orchid, Princess Plethora, Qiwei, Roshnee, Scepter, Shanze, Thais, Tsumugi, Umutoni, Vyga, Wengiel, Xyzla, Ynafets, ZieglindAshton Alchimist, Bruges, Cayenne, Dalbus, Eames, Fenghua, Ganesh, Getsai, Hackett, Itzae, Jizael, Kavelli Kaine, Linnaeus, Linux, Mazoree, Mistral, Naranna, Nimbus, Olince, Penn, Qhing, Rigveda, Shooter, Syphax, Tavoric, Templar, Urfan, Vetri, Wajahat, Xavi, Yoonbin, Zaxton

Some possible explanations/associations for a few of the above:

  • Cadeau is the French word for “present, gift.”
  • Ceiba is a type of tree.
  • Tsumugi Shirogane is a character from the 2017 video game Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.
  • Ynafets is “Stefany” spelled backwards.
  • Bruges is the capital of West Flanders (a province of Belgium).
  • Mistral is a strong late-winter wind in southern France.
  • The Rigveda is a sacred Hindu text.

I’ve never posted rankings for Austin before, but I have posted rankings recently for two nearby Texas cities: Houston (which is more than twice the size of Austin, population-wise) and College Station (which is about an eighth of the size of Austin).

Sources: From Aadhav to Zyva: 6,087 Names of Babies Born in Austin in 2017 | Open Data | City of Austin Texas, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Texas (public domain)