Popularity of the name Sarah, 1880–2025
Sarah was at its most popular in 1981, when 28,175 girls were given the name: about 1 in 59 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #4. In 2025, 2,710 girls were named Sarah, ranking #90. In all, Social Security counts 1,098,498 girls named Sarah since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 3,340 boys named Sarah.
- Peak year
- 1981
- Rank in 1981
- #4
- Babies in 1981
- 28,175
- Rank in 2025
- #90
- Total since 1880
- 1,098,498
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #57 in 2015 to #90 in 2025: 4,535 girls got it in 2015, and 2,710 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1990s, when 224,423 girls were named Sarah, #4 for the decade. It ranked #16 in the 1880s and #91 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 1,288 in 1880 (#10), 2,054 in 1900 (#37), 5,031 in 1920 (#50), 3,869 in 1940 (#60), 4,205 in 1960 (#116), 25,757 in 1980 (#5), 17,715 in 2000 (#5) and 3,070 in 2020 (#86).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 28,483, in 1982. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more girls for 1982 than for 1981, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #3, first reached in 1993.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Sarah, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 1,288 | #10 |
| 1881 | 1,226 | #12 |
| 1882 | 1,410 | #12 |
| 1883 | 1,359 | #12 |
| 1884 | 1,518 | #14 |
| 1885 | 1,424 | #18 |
| 1886 | 1,569 | #16 |
| 1887 | 1,436 | #20 |
| 1888 | 1,755 | #20 |
| 1889 | 1,730 | #20 |
| 1890 | 1,786 | #21 |
| 1891 | 1,669 | #24 |
| 1892 | 1,798 | #28 |
| 1893 | 1,632 | #33 |
| 1894 | 1,701 | #34 |
| 1895 | 1,777 | #33 |
| 1896 | 1,691 | #35 |
| 1897 | 1,713 | #34 |
| 1898 | 1,800 | #37 |
| 1899 | 1,587 | #38 |
| 1900 | 2,054 | #37 |
| 1901 | 1,514 | #40 |
| 1902 | 1,710 | #39 |
| 1903 | 1,553 | #41 |
| 1904 | 1,594 | #43 |
| 1905 | 1,762 | #41 |
| 1906 | 1,697 | #44 |
| 1907 | 1,799 | #48 |
| 1908 | 1,814 | #48 |
| 1909 | 1,845 | #49 |
| 1910 | 2,173 | #40 |
| 1911 | 2,201 | #42 |
| 1912 | 2,919 | #41 |
| 1913 | 3,178 | #43 |
| 1914 | 3,679 | #47 |
| 1915 | 4,415 | #51 |
| 1916 | 4,798 | #52 |
| 1917 | 4,766 | #52 |
| 1918 | 4,969 | #52 |
| 1919 | 5,022 | #46 |
| 1920 | 5,031 | #50 |
| 1921 | 5,024 | #54 |
| 1922 | 4,982 | #51 |
| 1923 | 4,963 | #54 |
| 1924 | 5,045 | #54 |
| 1925 | 4,685 | #58 |
| 1926 | 4,424 | #63 |
| 1927 | 4,555 | #61 |
| 1928 | 4,244 | #64 |
| 1929 | 3,816 | #68 |
| 1930 | 3,920 | #70 |
| 1931 | 3,636 | #71 |
| 1932 | 3,597 | #67 |
| 1933 | 3,621 | #58 |
| 1934 | 3,601 | #67 |
| 1935 | 3,615 | #61 |
| 1936 | 3,515 | #62 |
| 1937 | 3,588 | #65 |
| 1938 | 3,749 | #67 |
| 1939 | 3,671 | #68 |
| 1940 | 3,869 | #60 |
| 1941 | 3,982 | #60 |
| 1942 | 4,100 | #67 |
| 1943 | 3,990 | #71 |
| 1944 | 3,857 | #67 |
| 1945 | 3,592 | #76 |
| 1946 | 3,910 | #92 |
| 1947 | 4,223 | #93 |
| 1948 | 4,159 | #85 |
| 1949 | 4,295 | #84 |
| 1950 | 4,143 | #88 |
| 1951 | 4,028 | #91 |
| 1952 | 4,046 | #93 |
| 1953 | 4,086 | #93 |
| 1954 | 4,040 | #103 |
| 1955 | 3,979 | #108 |
| 1956 | 3,875 | #115 |
| 1957 | 3,987 | #116 |
| 1958 | 3,913 | #117 |
| 1959 | 3,869 | #119 |
| 1960 | 4,205 | #116 |
| 1961 | 4,204 | #113 |
| 1962 | 4,548 | #98 |
| 1963 | 4,571 | #94 |
| 1964 | 4,583 | #92 |
| 1965 | 4,062 | #92 |
| 1966 | 4,034 | #85 |
| 1967 | 4,139 | #83 |
| 1968 | 4,489 | #78 |
| 1969 | 5,078 | #72 |
| 1970 | 5,614 | #65 |
| 1971 | 5,843 | #58 |
| 1972 | 6,114 | #49 |
| 1973 | 7,214 | #35 |
| 1974 | 9,788 | #20 |
| 1975 | 11,170 | #17 |
| 1976 | 13,993 | #15 |
| 1977 | 18,096 | #11 |
| 1978 | 19,976 | #8 |
| 1979 | 21,015 | #6 |
| 1980 | 25,757 | #5 |
| 1981 | 28,175 | #4 |
| 1982 | 28,483 | #4 |
| 1983 | 27,228 | #5 |
| 1984 | 25,887 | #5 |
| 1985 | 24,879 | #5 |
| 1986 | 28,163 | #5 |
| 1987 | 27,894 | #5 |
| 1988 | 28,374 | #4 |
| 1989 | 27,797 | #5 |
| 1990 | 25,824 | #6 |
| 1991 | 25,233 | #6 |
| 1992 | 24,634 | #5 |
| 1993 | 24,257 | #3 |
| 1994 | 22,299 | #5 |
| 1995 | 21,395 | #5 |
| 1996 | 21,048 | #4 |
| 1997 | 20,716 | #4 |
| 1998 | 19,898 | #4 |
| 1999 | 19,119 | #4 |
| 2000 | 17,715 | #5 |
| 2001 | 15,929 | #6 |
| 2002 | 14,779 | #8 |
| 2003 | 13,785 | #11 |
| 2004 | 12,758 | #12 |
| 2005 | 11,555 | #15 |
| 2006 | 11,161 | #15 |
| 2007 | 10,014 | #18 |
| 2008 | 9,055 | #20 |
| 2009 | 7,794 | #21 |
| 2010 | 6,341 | #26 |
| 2011 | 5,571 | #39 |
| 2012 | 5,207 | #42 |
| 2013 | 4,715 | #48 |
| 2014 | 4,717 | #50 |
| 2015 | 4,535 | #57 |
| 2016 | 4,429 | #57 |
| 2017 | 4,036 | #62 |
| 2018 | 3,781 | #66 |
| 2019 | 3,325 | #81 |
| 2020 | 3,070 | #86 |
| 2021 | 2,865 | #91 |
| 2022 | 2,809 | #95 |
| 2023 | 2,771 | #91 |
| 2024 | 2,719 | #93 |
| 2025 | 2,710 | #90 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.