Unisex name · since 1998
Sailor
3,603 babies named Sailor in U.S. Social Security records since 1998, with the highest year being 2016. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #3,189 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,134 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 3,603
- born since 1998
- 2010s
- peak decade
3,603 babies have been named Sailor since 1998, making it today's #1134 unisex name.
Sailor has 3,603 recorded births among girls since 1998, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1134 as of the latest data, more common than 93% of girls, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1998 to 2025.
- #3,189 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,134 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 3,603 born since 1998
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Sailor ranks #3,189 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,134 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 3,603 born since 1998, peaking in the 2010s.
- #3,189 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,134 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 3,603
- born since 1998
- 2010s
- peak decade
Sailor's 3,603 recorded births place it above 95.59% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
33 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Sailor compares
3,603 Top 16% higher than 84% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Sailor's all-time total is 10x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Sailor | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 3,603 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 245 | 21 | 19,840 |
Sailor's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Sailor's full recorded timeline at 2012, 76% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 24% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1998, with just 10 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2016 peak of 245 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Sailor popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1998–2025
- Peak year (2016)
- 245
- Annual births at peak, across 28 years of records
Sailor popularity over time - boys
687 total births recorded since 1997 (Sailor as boys' name)
Sailor by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (1,730 births, 48% of the file).
2010s was Sailor's strongest decade.
1,730 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 48% of all-time use.
Sailor births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1990s 59
1990s
59 births
- 2000s 588
2000s
588 births
- 2010s
2010s
1,730 births
- 2020s
2020s
1,226 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 1,730 births (48% of all-time use).
How Sailor compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Sailor's total volume
Sailor by state
Where Sailor concentrates geographically, total births since 1998
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 348 | 9.7% |
| #2 | California | | 325 | 9.0% |
| #3 | Florida | | 275 | 7.6% |
| #4 | North Carolina | | 149 | 4.1% |
| #5 | Georgia | | 146 | 4.1% |
| #6 | Washington | | 97 | 2.7% |
| #7 | Utah | | 89 | 2.5% |
| #8 | Tennessee | | 64 | 1.8% |
348 of 3,603 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 33 reporting states.
Sailor appears in 33 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Sailor? ▼
Where does Sailor sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Sailor most popular? ▼
Where is Sailor most popular? ▼
Is Sailor a unisex name? ▼
How long has the name Sailor been used? ▼
What names are similar to Sailor? ▼
What to do with Sailor's data
- Sailor's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (1,730 total births) through the 2020s (1,226) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Texas records the most Sailors (348 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Sailor
Nearby Names Like Sailor
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Sailor
Compare Sailor side by side: Sailor vs Saige Sailor vs Saira Sailor vs Saida
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Sailor
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Sailor: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2016)
Similar record span (~27 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1998–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Sailor draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.