Given name & surname
Sarah
“princess”
Sarah has the Hebrew meaning “princess,” with a biblical story of a changed name at the centre of its history.
Original Hebrewשרה
Meaning & origin
What it means
Sarah means “princess” in Hebrew.
Where it comes from
Sarah comes from Hebrew biblical tradition and is the name given to Abraham’s wife in Genesis.
How it developed
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.
The story
Sarah is remembered in Genesis as Abraham’s wife and Isaac’s mother. Its later local adaptations included use for Sorcha in Ireland and Mor in Scotland, showing how an established biblical name could serve different naming traditions.
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Sarah appears in Genesis 20:12.
From biblical name research
Sarah through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,101,838
- 3,340 boys · 1,098,498 girls
- Most popular year
- 1982
- 28,608 babies
- 2025
- 2,710
- #90 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −26%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,710 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 90 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 25.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 28,483 in 1982. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (390). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 874,128 as a first name in 2020; 780 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.
Sarah’s family of names
In English usage, Sarah has a diminutive in Sally. In Norwegian usage, Sarah shares a linguistic root with Sara. Sarah has a related form in Shari.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Sarah has relatives in 42 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 33
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Sadiediminutive · English
- Saravariant · English, German
- Zaravariant · English, German
- Sorayavariant
- Sariahvariant
- Sallypet form · English
- Zarahvariant · English, German
- Sarinavariant
Show 25 moreShow fewer
- Salliediminutive · English
- Saritavariant
- Sahravariant · German, English
- Saaravariant · Finnish
- Sarivariant
- Saarahvariant
- Sharivariant
- Sarravariant
- Sarrahlikely variant
- Sairydiminutive · English
- Sharyvariant
- Sharryvariant
- Sharrievariant
- Sharrivariant
- Sharievariant
- Sharitavariant
- Sarikavariant
- Sarahhlikely variant
- Swohvariant · English
- Sareydiminutive · English
- Saznickname · English
- Saarrahvariant
- Saaraahvariant
- Saaraavariant
- Sassapet form
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 31
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- שרהHebrew
- שָׂרָהHebrew
- śārāhHebrew
- Zahraequivalent
- Heraderivative · Māori
- Xararelated form
- ZehraKurdish
- Kalarelated form · Hawaiian
Show 23 moreShow fewer
- Sorchasee also · Scottish Gaelic, Irish
- Zaritarelated form
- ساراequivalent
- Sallaequivalent
- സാറequivalent
- Սառաequivalent
- СарраRussian
- 莎拉borrowing · Chinese
- SáraCzech, Hungarian
- Sārarelated form · Latvian, Arabic
- SaratuHausa
- سارهPersian
- СараBashkir, Bulgarian
- साराHindi
- שׂרהYiddish
- ܣܪܐSyriac
- SaurahScots
- SaalatGreenlandic
- MòrScottish Gaelic
- SáráNorthern Sami, smi
- ΣάραGreek
- MòragScottish Gaelic
- سارةArabic
See also 11
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Israelshares a root
- Saraishares a root
- Sharonshares a root
- Seraiahshares a root
- Serahshares a root
- Mórsee also
- Tyrannusshares a root
- Sherebiahshares a root
Show 3 moreShow fewer
People named Sarah
- Sarah BernhardtFrench stage actress, painter and sculptor (1844–1923)
- Sarah PalinGovernor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009born 1964
- Sarah Jessica ParkerAmerican actress (born 1965)
- Olivia ColmanBritish actressborn 1974
- Jane WymanAmerican actress (1917–2007)
- Sarah Michelle GellarAmerican actress (born 1977)
- Sarah ToscanoItalian singer-songwriter and actressborn 2006
- Sarah Wayne CalliesAmerican actress and directorborn 1977
- Sarah FergusonBritish writer, charity patron, public speaker, film producer and television personality, and former Duchess of Yorkborn 1959
Characters named Sarah: Sarah Connor (the Terminator franchise), Sarah Kerrigan (StarCraft), Sarah Jane Smith (fictional character), Sara Lance (the Arrowverse).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
- Biblical names
- Old Testament examples
- S Names
- Subtly connected twin names
- Most popular names in 2000
- Most popular names in the 1980s
- Early Beginnings: settler names
- Top Twins Names of 2006
- Biblical Names: familiar examples
- The Classics
- Classic Names
- Most Popular Names of 2006
- Most Popular Names of 2002
- Most Popular Names of 2001
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- Amish Names
- Police Officers
- Influential Names
- Popular Names in Denmark
- Popular Names in Alberta
- Popular Names in British Columbia
- Popular Names in Belgium
- Biblical Names
- Most Popular Names of the 1990s
- Most Popular Names of the 1980s
- Popular Names in Northern Ireland
- Popular Names in Ireland
- Popular Names in Austria
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