Sara
Sara was given to 1,568 girls in 2025, #198 among girls’ names; 437,441 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 352,000 Americans named Sara and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (81% of everyone recorded); the median is 40 years old and half are between 29 and 49.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Sara by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Sara mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Sara is “a female given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Hebrew], variant of Sarah.” Its etymology gives the sense “Sarah” (Sara).
From Latin Sara (“Sarah”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Sara?
#198 among girls’ names, 2025
Sara fell from #161 in 2015 to #198 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 1.1 to 1.0 per 1,000.
11,391 babies in 1981, the peak
Sara peaked in 1981, when 11,391 babies were given it (11,359 girls, #26 among girls’ names). The 1,568 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,568 | #198 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | 1,612 | #187 | 1.0 |
| 2023 | 1,602 | #188 | 1.0 |
| 2022 | 1,680 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 2021 | 1,519 | #197 | 0.93 |
| 2020 | 1,577 | #183 | 1.0 |
| 2019 | 1,746 | #163 | 1.0 |
| 2018 | 1,718 | #170 | 1.0 |
| 2017 | 1,887 | #158 | 1.1 |
| 2016 | 2,041 | #152 | 1.2 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,982 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 2014 | 1,972 | #166 | 1.1 |
| 2013 | 2,093 | #153 | 1.2 |
| 2012 | 2,261 | #142 | 1.3 |
| 2011 | 2,396 | #130 | 1.4 |
| 2010 | 2,636 | #119 | 1.5 |
| 2009 | 3,044 | #106 | 1.7 |
| 2008 | 3,595 | #92 | 1.9 |
| 2007 | 4,024 | #80 | 2.1 |
| 2006 | 4,411 | #72 | 2.3 |
| 2005 | 4,285 | #75 | 2.3 |
| 2004 | 4,507 | #68 | 2.5 |
| 2003 | 4,764 | #65 | 2.6 |
| 2002 | 4,945 | #59 | 2.8 |
| 2001 | 5,156 | #58 | 2.9 |
| 2000 | 5,325 | #57 | 2.9 |
| 1999 | 5,626 | #50 | 3.2 |
| 1998 | 6,010 | #48 | 3.4 |
| 1997 | 6,159 | #50 | 3.5 |
| 1996 | 6,288 | #50 | 3.6 |
| 1995 | 6,697 | #48 | 3.8 |
| 1994 | 7,220 | #43 | 4.0 |
| 1993 | 7,902 | #40 | 4.4 |
| 1992 | 8,443 | #37 | 4.6 |
| 1991 | 8,846 | #37 | 4.7 |
| 1990 | 8,979 | #34 | 4.7 |
| 1989 | 9,706 | #29 | 5.3 |
| 1988 | 10,020 | #30 | 5.6 |
| 1987 | 10,090 | #29 | 5.8 |
| 1986 | 11,052 | #27 | 6.4 |
| 1985 | 10,562 | #30 | 6.1 |
| 1984 | 9,314 | #32 | 5.5 |
| 1983 | 10,087 | #31 | 6.0 |
| 1982 | 11,344 | #28 | 6.7 |
| 1981 | 11,359 | #26 | 6.8 |
| 1980 | 11,148 | #27 | 6.7 |
| 1979 | 8,654 | #30 | 5.4 |
| 1978 | 8,869 | #28 | 5.8 |
| 1977 | 8,709 | #27 | 5.7 |
| 1976 | 8,020 | #27 | 5.5 |
| 1975 | 5,131 | #54 | 3.5 |
| 1974 | 4,650 | #61 | 3.2 |
| 1973 | 3,479 | #89 | 2.4 |
| 1972 | 3,179 | #101 | 2.1 |
| 1971 | 3,207 | #114 | 1.9 |
| 1970 | 3,060 | #126 | 1.8 |
| 1969 | 2,791 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 1968 | 2,457 | #130 | 1.5 |
| 1967 | 2,216 | #155 | 1.3 |
| 1966 | 2,059 | #167 | 1.2 |
| 1965 | 1,973 | #178 | 1.1 |
| 1964 | 2,355 | #166 | 1.2 |
| 1963 | 2,486 | #162 | 1.3 |
| 1962 | 2,472 | #163 | 1.3 |
| 1961 | 2,198 | #177 | 1.1 |
| 1960 | 2,037 | #186 | 1.0 |
| 1959 | 2,032 | #180 | 1.0 |
| 1958 | 1,991 | #184 | 1.0 |
| 1957 | 2,110 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1956 | 2,004 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1955 | 1,973 | #177 | 1.0 |
| 1954 | 2,121 | #164 | 1.1 |
| 1953 | 2,078 | #158 | 1.1 |
| 1952 | 2,044 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 1951 | 2,079 | #152 | 1.2 |
| 1950 | 2,059 | #147 | 1.2 |
| 1949 | 1,971 | #148 | 1.2 |
| 1948 | 2,020 | #142 | 1.2 |
| 1947 | 2,174 | #138 | 1.2 |
| 1946 | 2,035 | #135 | 1.3 |
| 1945 | 1,803 | #135 | 1.4 |
| 1944 | 1,903 | #136 | 1.4 |
| 1943 | 2,020 | #137 | 1.4 |
| 1942 | 2,191 | #128 | 1.6 |
| 1941 | 2,071 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 1940 | 2,087 | #122 | 1.8 |
| 1939 | 1,873 | #127 | 1.7 |
| 1938 | 1,949 | #124 | 1.8 |
| 1937 | 1,901 | #130 | 1.8 |
| 1936 | 1,823 | #129 | 1.8 |
| 1935 | 1,773 | #128 | 1.7 |
| 1934 | 1,844 | #125 | 1.8 |
| 1933 | 1,862 | #123 | 1.8 |
| 1932 | 1,759 | #130 | 1.6 |
| 1931 | 1,707 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 1930 | 1,770 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 1929 | 1,748 | #133 | 1.6 |
| 1928 | 1,873 | #129 | 1.6 |
| 1927 | 1,994 | #129 | 1.7 |
| 1926 | 2,022 | #131 | 1.7 |
| 1925 | 2,032 | #133 | 1.7 |
| 1924 | 2,313 | #116 | 1.9 |
| 1923 | 2,185 | #123 | 1.8 |
| 1922 | 2,220 | #118 | 1.8 |
| 1921 | 2,350 | #115 | 1.9 |
| 1920 | 2,364 | #111 | 2.0 |
| 1919 | 2,171 | #112 | 1.9 |
| 1918 | 2,295 | #109 | 2.0 |
| 1917 | 2,147 | #107 | 2.0 |
| 1916 | 1,992 | #109 | 1.9 |
| 1915 | 1,913 | #106 | 1.9 |
| 1914 | 1,488 | #108 | 2.0 |
| 1913 | 1,121 | #114 | 1.8 |
| 1912 | 962 | #121 | 1.7 |
| 1911 | 687 | #123 | 1.6 |
| 1910 | 633 | #128 | 1.6 |
| 1909 | 559 | #127 | 1.6 |
| 1908 | 546 | #127 | 1.6 |
| 1907 | 494 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 1906 | 457 | #135 | 1.5 |
| 1905 | 437 | #137 | 1.5 |
| 1904 | 359 | #149 | 1.3 |
| 1903 | 333 | #155 | 1.3 |
| 1902 | 335 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1901 | 315 | #156 | 1.3 |
| 1900 | 375 | #157 | 1.3 |
| 1899 | 323 | #146 | 1.4 |
| 1898 | 362 | #139 | 1.4 |
| 1897 | 353 | #137 | 1.5 |
| 1896 | 326 | #143 | 1.4 |
| 1895 | 363 | #127 | 1.6 |
| 1894 | 304 | #141 | 1.4 |
| 1893 | 290 | #143 | 1.4 |
| 1892 | 276 | #148 | 1.3 |
| 1891 | 260 | #138 | 1.4 |
| 1890 | 262 | #137 | 1.4 |
| 1889 | 286 | #130 | 1.6 |
| 1888 | 293 | #125 | 1.6 |
| 1887 | 214 | #129 | 1.5 |
| 1886 | 247 | #117 | 1.7 |
| 1885 | 215 | #121 | 1.6 |
| 1884 | 197 | #127 | 1.5 |
| 1883 | 183 | #118 | 1.6 |
| 1882 | 180 | #115 | 1.7 |
| 1881 | 147 | #117 | 1.6 |
| 1880 | 165 | #110 | 1.8 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Sara a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Sara has been given almost only to girls: 1,248 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Sara: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Sara, and how old are they?
352,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 81% of the 437,441 Americans ever recorded as Sara. The median Sara alive today is 40 years old; half are between 29 and 49.
The 2020 Census counted 384,257 people named Sara (383,777 women and girls, 480 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 355,991 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 10,300 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 31,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 75,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 144,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 68,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 22,900 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Sara born?
The states with the most babies named Sara are California, New York and Texas, with 23% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 39,629 | #200 | 0.8× |
| New York | 30,061 | #54 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 27,836 | #199 | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 25,476 | #205 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 19,888 | #275 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 18,762 | #164 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 17,023 | #189 | 1.4× |
| Michigan | 16,420 | #282 | 1.0× |
| Florida | 14,762 | #173 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 12,011 | #22 | 0.9× |
Where Sara is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Sara is most over-represented in Georgia: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Sara with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 1,591,793 babies since 1880, Sara is the second most given (27% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,568 of their 5,758 babies (27%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Sara
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Sara and names like it
- Compare Sara and SarahBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sSara peaked in 1981.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Sara since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Sara: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1981The year the most babies were named Sara.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Sara alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with SMost given first.