NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Sabir

A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "patient, steadfast".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Sabir is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Sabir popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2671, with 8 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2009, with 17 births.

This profile covers 267 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 47% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 265 living people in the UK are called Sabir. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Sabir ranked #2671 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 8 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2009, when 17 boys were registered as Sabir.
  • About 265 living people in the UK are estimated to have Sabir as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#2671

2024

Births in 2024

8

Latest year

Peak year

2009

17 births

Estimated living

265

2026

Meaning

What does Sabir mean?

The name Sabir is of Arabic origin, derived from the root word "sabr," which means patience or perseverance. It is believed to have emerged as a given name during the early Islamic period, around the 7th century AD, in the Arabian Peninsula.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sabir can be found in the writings of Islamic scholars and historians from the 8th and 9th centuries. It is mentioned that Sabir ibn Yazid al-Azdi was a prominent Arab general and governor who lived during the Umayyad Caliphate, serving under the reign of Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in the early 8th century.

The name Sabir also holds significance in Sufism, the mystical tradition within Islam. Sabir al-Balkhi, a famous Sufi saint and scholar from Balkh (present-day Afghanistan), lived in the 9th century AD and is renowned for his teachings on patience and spiritual perseverance.

In later centuries, the name Sabir was carried by several notable figures throughout the Islamic world. Sabir ibn Rushdain, a 12th-century mathematician and astronomer from Seville, Spain, made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry and spherical geometry. Sabir al-Suri, born in Damascus in the 13th century, was a renowned traveler and geographer who wrote extensively about his journeys across Asia and Africa.

Another prominent figure was Sabir Shah, a 16th-century Sufi saint and poet from Kashmir, who played a crucial role in spreading Islam and Sufi teachings in the region. His poetic works, written in the Kashmiri language, are still widely celebrated and recited today.

In more recent times, Sabir Alam (1926-2010) was a renowned Urdu poet and scholar from Pakistan, known for his contributions to modern Urdu literature and his teachings at various universities.

These are just a few examples of the historical figures who have carried the name Sabir, reflecting its deep-rooted significance and cultural heritage across the Islamic world and beyond.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Sabir over time

The chart below shows babies named Sabir registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Sabir, the clearest high point is 2009. The latest England and Wales figure is 8 births in 2024, compared with 17 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Sabir
0491317199620102024

Decades

Sabir by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Sabir was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #3162 32 5
2010s #2451 96 10
2000s #1613 113 10
1990s #1754 26 4

Related

Names similar to Sabir

FAQ

Sabir: questions and answers

How popular is the name Sabir in the UK right now?

In 2024, Sabir was ranked #2671 for boys in England and Wales, with 8 births registered.

When was Sabir most popular?

The peak year on record was 2009, with 17 babies registered as Sabir in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Sabir?

A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "patient, steadfast".

How many people are called Sabir in the UK?

A total of 267 babies have been registered as Sabir across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.