Given name & surname
Sailor
“one who sails the seas”·“man who sails the seas”
Sailor is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “one who sails the seas” (American) and “man who sails the seas” (American). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “one who sails the seas” (American) and “man who sails the seas” (American). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is American.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1997. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Sailor through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,290
- 687 boys · 3,603 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 294 babies
- 2025
- 246
- #1,134 for girls · #3,080 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −6%
- Steady
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 17% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 206 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,134 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 7.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 245 in 2016. It also appeared in 40 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (23). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,743 as a first name in 2020; 2,157 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Sailor’s family of names
Sailor has a related form in Saylor. Sailor has a related form in Salar. Sailor has a related form in Sayler.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 16
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Sailor
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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