NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Sara

A feminine Hebrew name meaning "princess" or "woman of high rank".

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.

Sara is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Sara popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #97, with 476 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2017, with 653 births.

This profile covers 14,205 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, 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 73% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 17,252 living people in the UK are called Sara. 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

  • Sara ranked #97 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 476 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2017, when 653 girls were registered as Sara.
  • Sara ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #161 in 2024.
  • About 17,252 living people in the UK are estimated to have Sara as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#97

2024

Births in 2024

476

Latest year

Peak year

2017

653 births

Estimated living

17,252

2026

Meaning

What does Sara mean?

The name Sara has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, derived from the biblical name Sarah, which means "princess" or "noblewoman." It first appeared in the Old Testament book of Genesis, as the name of Abraham's wife and the matriarch of the Jewish people.

The name gained popularity during the early days of Christianity, as it was adopted by followers of the new religion. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Sara can be found in the New Testament, referring to one of the daughters of Raguel, who married Tobias in the Book of Tobit.

Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Sara. In the 4th century, Sara of Byzantium was a Christian martyr who was executed for her faith during the reign of Emperor Licinius. Sara Theodora, born in 508 CE, was the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and played a significant role in his reign.

During the Middle Ages, Sara was a popular name among Jewish communities across Europe. One of the earliest recorded Jewish women with the name was Sara Bat Tovim, a 12th-century Jewish scholar and poet from Catalonia.

In the Renaissance era, Sara Copia Sullam, born in 1592 in Venice, was a renowned Jewish scholar and poet who was admired for her literary works and her command of multiple languages.

Moving into the modern era, Sara Josepha Hale, born in 1788, was an American writer and activist who played a crucial role in advocating for the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday in the United States.

Another notable figure was Sara Teasdale, an American lyric poet born in 1884, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1918 for her collection "Love Songs."

These are just a few examples of the many remarkable individuals who have carried the name Sara throughout history, reflecting its enduring popularity and cultural significance across various societies and time periods.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Sara over time

The chart below shows babies named Sara 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 Sara, the clearest high point is 2017. The latest England and Wales figure is 476 births in 2024, compared with 653 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Sara
0163327490653199620102024

Decades

Sara by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Sara 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 #101 2,425 5
2010s #95 5,850 10
2000s #118 4,419 10
1990s #126 1,511 4

Geography

Where Sara is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Sara. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Sara ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #161 in 2024.

Scotland
25
Northern Ireland
12

Across the UK

Sara in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#164 in 2024

51 years of NRS records, 2,710 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#161 in 2024

28 years of NISRA records, 447 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Sara

  • Sara Vickers

    actor

    British actress

    2000-

  • Sara Shamsavari

    photographer; musician

    Iranian artist

    1979-

  • Sara Symington

    sport cyclist

    English cyclist

    1969-

  • Sara Sheridan

    novelist

    Scottish novelist

    1968-

  • Sara Stewart

    stage actor; film actor; television actor

    British actress

    1966-

  • Sara Stockbridge

    actor; model; film actor

    American actress, screenwriter, author and model

    1965-

  • Sara Thornton

    police officer

    British Chief Constatble

    1962-

  • Sara Sugarman

    screenwriter; actor; film director; director

    Welsh actress and film director

    1962-

Related

Names similar to Sara

FAQ

Sara: questions and answers

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

In 2024, Sara was ranked #97 for girls in England and Wales, with 476 births registered.

When was Sara most popular?

The peak year on record was 2017, with 653 babies registered as Sara in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Sara?

A feminine Hebrew name meaning "princess" or "woman of high rank".

How many people are called Sara in the UK?

A total of 14,205 babies have been registered as Sara across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 2,710 more in Scotland and 447 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Sara most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Sara ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #161 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

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.