Given name & surname
Sanaa
“beautiful work of art”
Sanaa is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “beautiful work of art.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “beautiful work of art.”
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1977. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Sanaa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,146
- 0 boys · 6,146 girls
- Most popular year
- 2006
- 482 babies
- 2025
- 89
- #2,116 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −46%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 89 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,116 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 46.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 482 in 2006. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (9). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,068 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Sanaa’s family of names
Sanaa has a related form in Sanae. Sanaa has a related form in Sannaa.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Sanaa
- Sanaa LathanAmerican actressborn 1971
- Sanâa AlaouiMoroccan-French actressborn 1987
- Sanaâ MssoudyMoroccan footballerborn 1999
- Sana AkroudMoroccan actressborn 1980
- Sanaa AtabrourMoroccan taekwondo practitionerborn 1989
- Sanaa BhambriIndian tennis playerborn 1988
- Sanaa MazharEgyptian actor1932–2018
- Sanaa SeifEgyptian political activistborn 1993
- Sanaa HamriMoroccan American film and television directorborn 1974
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Sanaa, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Amani
“one who is peaceful” · “one with wishes and dreams”
18% boys · 82% girls
Maliza
“an accomplished woman”
>99% girls
Raziya
“a good-natured woman; one who is agreeable”
>99% girls
Jela
“born of the suffering father” · “during birth, the father suffered”
>99% girls
Zahra
“white-skinned” · “flowerlike”
>99% girls
Zalika
“born into royalty; wellborn”
>99% girls
Zawadi
“a gift; a present”
>99% girls
Zuri
“a beauty” · “lovely and white”
2% boys · 98% girls