Given name & surname
Sara
“princess”
In English use, Sara has a related form in Sarah. Sarah means “princess” in Hebrew.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Sara has a related form in Sarah. Sarah means “princess” in Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
How it developed
Sara is used as a variant of Sarah. In English use, Sara has a related form in Sarah. The shared background comes through Sarah: In the biblical account, Sarai is renamed Sarah as part of a blessing. Later Irish and Scottish uses sometimes adopted Sarah in place of local Gaelic names, a separate practice from its Hebrew origin.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Sara has a related form in Sarah. The history of Sarah gives this family its wider story. Sarah is remembered in Genesis as Abraham’s wife and Isaac’s mother. Sarah’s later local adaptations included use for Sorcha in Ireland and Mor in Scotland, showing how an established biblical name could serve different naming traditions.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Sara through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 437,441
- 1,248 boys · 436,193 girls
- Most popular year
- 1981
- 11,391 babies
- 2025
- 1,568
- #198 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −11%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,568 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 198 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 11.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 11,359 in 1981. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (232). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 384,257 as a first name in 2020; 1,125 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.
Sara’s family of names
In Spanish usage, Sara has a diminutive in Sarita. In Norwegian usage, Sara shares a linguistic root with Sarah. In German usage, Sara has a conventional equivalent in the English form Sally.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Sara has relatives in 19 languages. Lines run from its Arabic roots to each of them.
24 related names in 19 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 7
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 20
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 5
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Sara
- Sara BareillesAmerican recording artist; pop rock singer-songwriter and pianistborn 1979
- Malena ErnmanSwedish opera singerborn 1970
- Sara ErraniItalian tennis player (born 1987)
- Sara TeasdaleAmerican writer and poet (1884–1933)
- Zarah LeanderSwedish actress and singer (1907–1981)
- Sara Ali KhanIndian actress (born 1995)
- Sara GilbertAmerican actressborn 1975
- Saint SarahFrench-Egyptian saint100–100
- Sara RamirezMexican-American actor and singerborn 1975
Characters named Sara: Sara Tancredi (Prison Break), Sara Lance (the Arrowverse), Sara Sidle (fictional human).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Sara, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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