Girls' name · since 1880
Sarah
1,098,498 babies named Sarah in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1982. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #10 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #90 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,098,498
- born since 1880
- 1980s
- peak decade
1,098,498 babies have been named Sarah since 1880, making it today's #90 girls' name.
Sarah has 1,098,498 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #90 as of the latest data, more common than 99.5% of girls, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #10 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #90 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 1,098,498 born since 1880
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Sarah ranks #10 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #90 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 1,098,498 born since 1880, peaking in the 1980s.
- #10 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #90 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,098,498
- born since 1880
- 1980s
- peak decade
Sarah's 1,098,498 recorded births place it above 99.98% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Sarah compares
1,098,498 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Sarah's all-time total is 2,922x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Sarah | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 1,098,498 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 28,483 | 21 | 19,840 |
Sarah's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Sarah splits its recorded history at 1953: 80% of all births land in the more recent half, 20% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1881 (1,226 births) -- compare that against the 1982 peak of 28,483 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Sarah popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1982)
- 28,483
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Sarah popularity over time - boys
3,340 total births recorded since 1883 (Sarah as boys' name)
Sarah by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (272,637 births, 25% of the file).
1980s was Sarah's strongest decade.
272,637 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 25% of all-time use.
Sarah births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 14,715
1880s
14,715 births
- 1890s 17,154
1890s
17,154 births
- 1900s 17,342
1900s
17,342 births
- 1910s 38,120
1910s
38,120 births
- 1920s 46,769
1920s
46,769 births
- 1930s 36,513
1930s
36,513 births
- 1940s 39,977
1940s
39,977 births
- 1950s 39,966
1950s
39,966 births
- 1960s 43,913
1960s
43,913 births
- 1970s
1970s
118,823 births
- 1980s
1980s
272,637 births
- 1990s
1990s
224,423 births
- 2000s
2000s
124,545 births
- 2010s 46,657
2010s
46,657 births
- 2020s 16,944
2020s
16,944 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 272,637 births (25% of all-time use).
How Sarah 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 Sarah's total volume
Sarah by state
Where Sarah concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 90,770 | 8.3% |
| #2 | New York | | 67,417 | 6.1% |
| #3 | Texas | | 67,378 | 6.1% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 51,225 | 4.7% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 49,700 | 4.5% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 44,347 | 4.0% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 39,603 | 3.6% |
| #8 | Florida | | 38,668 | 3.5% |
90,770 of 1,098,498 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Sarah appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Sarah? ▼
Where does Sarah sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Sarah most popular? ▼
Where is Sarah most popular? ▼
How long has the name Sarah been used? ▼
What names are similar to Sarah? ▼
What to do with Sarah's data
- Sarah's decade-level peak was the 1980s (272,637 total births); usage has since declined to 16,944 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Sarahs (90,770 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Sarah
Nearby Names Like Sarah
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Sarah
Compare Sarah side by side: Sarah vs Sara Sarah vs Sarai Sarah vs Sarina
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Sarah
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Sarah: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1982)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Sarah 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.