Given name & surname
Saran
“one who brings joy to others”
Saran is used as a given name and a surname. One African interpretation is “one who brings joy to others.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One African interpretation is “one who brings joy to others.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is African.
How it developed
From Polish Saran, from Serbo-Croatian Šaran, from Hindi शरण.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1951. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Saran through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 676
- 25 boys · 651 girls
- Most popular year
- 2006
- 22 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #11,761 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +13%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,761 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 28.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 20 in 1986. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,731 as a first name in 2020; 908 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.
Saran’s family of names
Saran has a related form in Sarann. Saran has a related form in Saranne. Saran has a related form in Sarana.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Around the world
Saran has relatives in 4 languages.
3 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Saran
- Hadja Saran Daraba Kabawomen's rights activist from Guineaborn 1945
- Saran Kaba JonesPhilanthropist, Advocate, Social Entrepreneurborn 1982
- Saran NghiemEnglish professional squash playerborn 2003
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Saran, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sesen
“one who longs for more”
>99% girls
Saada
“one who aids others; a helper”
>99% girls
Abena
“born on a Tuesday”
>99% girls
Adanna
“her father's daughter; a father's pride”
>99% girls
Sela
“as strong as a rock” · “a savior”
>99% girls
Sisi
“born on a Sunday”
>99% girls
Abeni
“a girl child who was prayed for”
>99% girls
Selam
“she is peaceful”
>99% girls