Sara

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 17 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Sara is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• French given name497K records spelled Sara93 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Spain, United States, Belgium

  Languages: French, Catalan, Hungarian

  Also written Sára, Sare, Sarà, Saré, Sàrà

• Hungarian given name287K records spelled Sara31 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Hungary, Finland, Slovenia, United States

  Languages: Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Sära, Särä, Šaŕa, Sârâ, Sára

• a separate given name203K records spelled Sara15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Ethiopia

  Also written Sára, Sárá, Sārā, Sāra, Sará

• Italian given name166K records spelled Sara21 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Italy, United States, Spain, United Kingdom

  Also written Sarà, Sàrà, Sara', Sarã, Sâra

• Khmer given name99K records spelled Sara8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, United States, India, Morocco

  Languages: Khmer, Vietnamese

  Also written Sarà, Sára, Sàrà, Särà, Särā

106 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Sara is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Chad/Central African Republic: used for Sara peoples speaking Bongo-Bagirmi; also a form of Sarah (Hebrew/Arabic) meaning 'princess, noble.'

  as a name·African Names

• In English, from Hebrew Sara(h) 'princess'; first attested Sarra c1160 DC (Leicestershire)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• Japanese version of the English name DSara(h). See main dictionary.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A female given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Hebrew], variant of Sarah.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• Gives pleasure

  as a name·The book of African names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Sarah Bernhardtb. 1844FRnot in their usual nameFrench stage actress, painter and sculptor (1844–1923)
• Muriel Sparkb. 1918GBnot in their usual nameScottish novelist and writer (1918–2006)
• Sarah Fergusonb. 1959GBnot in their usual nameBritish writer, charity patron, public speaker, film producer and television personality, and former Duchess of York
• Sarah Mullallyb. 1962GBnot in their usual name106th archbishop of Canterbury
• Sarah Palinb. 1964USnot in their usual nameGovernor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009
• Sarah Clarkeb. 1972USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress
• Olivia Colmanb. 1974GBnot in their usual nameBritish actress
• Sarah Shahib. 1980USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress and model (born 1980)
• Rachel Bilsonb. 1981USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress
• Sarah McBrideb. 1990USnot in their usual nameAmerican human rights activist and politician (born 1990)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 2,148 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Sara?

We estimate roughly 1.2 million people bear Sara (counting its spellings and scripts) across 17 countries in our records.

In which country does Sara have the most bearers?

Sara is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled sara.

Where is Sara most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Sara is densest in Sweden — about 1 in 147 people — even though Argentina holds more of our records for it.

How common is Sara compared with other names?

In Argentina, Sara is the 221st most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Sara a male or female name?

Sara is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Sara mean?

Recorded meaning: wife of the Prophet Ibrahim and mother of the Prophet Ismail