Girls' name · peaked in 1981
Sara name popularity since 1925
401,091 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Sara. Half of them were born in 1984 or earlier, so the typical Sara is about 42 years old in 2026. Sara peaked in 1981 as the #26 name for girls, and it ranked #198 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 401,091
- Named Sara, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #198
- for girls in 2025 (1,568 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 399,896 girls · 1,195 boys
- Most popular in
- Iowa
- 1.44× its national share
Peak year is the year Sara made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Sara births per year, 1925–2025
1981 was the biggest year for Sara both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1971 and 1976, Sara became 2.8× more common, from 1 in 519 baby girls to 1 in 183.
- Steepest fall: Between 2006 and 2011, its share of baby girls fell by 41%, from 1 in 431 to 1 in 734.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Sara's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Sara.
Decade by decade
Babies named Sara in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 9,669 | 39 | – |
| 1930s | 18,261 | 105 | #128 |
| 1940s | 20,275 | 60 | #135 |
| 1950s | 20,491 | 35 | #177 |
| 1960s | 23,044 | 61 | #178 |
| 1970s | 56,958 | 202 | #54 |
| 1980s | 104,682 | 438 | #30 |
| 1990s | 72,170 | 150 | #48 |
| 2000s | 44,056 | 82 | #75 |
| 2010s | 20,732 | 12 | #161 |
| 2020–25 | 9,558 | 11 | #198 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
37.0% of babies named Sara from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Sara is most popular
The index compares Sara's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Sara.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 1.44× | 7,366 |
| Wisconsin | 1.44× | 11,416 |
| Minnesota | 1.43× | 10,497 |
| Vermont | 1.37× | 922 |
| Oregon | 1.29× | 4,893 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Sara and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Sara (this page) | 399,896 | 1981 |
| Sarah | 986,122 | 1981 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Sara's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Sara.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Sara (1981).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data