The story in the numbers

434,598 girls have been named Sara in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1981, with 11,358 births — 0.68% of all girls recorded that year.

It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 167 → 188).

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1982, and the 1980s alone account for 24%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 36 of them in the top 100.

It is overwhelmingly a girl’s name: 1,248 boys have also been given it, 0.29% of the total.

Rank among girls, year by year

By decade

Decade

girls named Sara

2,127

3,119

4,210

15,409

21,101

18,261

20,275

20,491

23,045

56,960

104,681

72,170

44,050

20,723

7,976

In 1981, its biggest year

Sara was the 26th most given girl’s name that year. The top five girls’ names of 1981 were Jennifer, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah and Melissa. See all of 1981.

Names that rose and fell with Sara

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.