Sabah
The name of Arabic origin refers to early morning or dawn.
Name Census estimates that about 507 living Americans carry the first name Sabah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sabah today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sabah births was 1996 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sabah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Sabah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
507
~ 1 in 676,044 Americans
Peak year
1996
22 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,902
Tracked since 1968
Census
Sabah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,488 people with the first name Sabah, which placed it at #6,441 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,441
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,488 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sabah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sabah is White at 68.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (18.1%) and Black (6.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sabah described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Sabah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.4% · 1,702
- Asian and Pacific Islander18.1% · 451
- Black or African American6.7% · 167
- Two or more races5.6% · 139
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Sabah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sabah from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 158 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sabah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sabah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sabahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sabah
The name Sabah originates from the Arabic language and has its roots in the Middle Eastern region. It is derived from the Arabic word "sabah," which means "morning" or "dawn." This name is often associated with the beauty and freshness of a new day, signifying a new beginning or a fresh start.
In the Islamic tradition, Sabah is considered a virtuous name, as it is mentioned in the Qur'an as one of the attributes of Allah. The verse "Fa Subhan Allah hina tumsoon wa hina tusbihoon" (Quran 30:17) translates to "So glorify Allah when you enter the evening and when you arise in the morning."
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Sabah can be found in the works of renowned Arab poets and scholars from the 7th and 8th centuries. The name gained popularity during the Islamic Golden Age, which spanned from the 8th to the 13th centuries, and was often given to individuals born in the early hours of the day.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Sabah. One of the most prominent was Sabah al-Din Ghaznavi (1020-1099), a Persian Muslim poet and philosopher who lived during the Seljuk Empire. His works, particularly his collection of poems titled "Diwan," have had a lasting influence on Persian literature.
Another notable figure was Sabah al-Din Mahmud Malik al-Muazzam (1165-1227), a Kurdish prince and ruler of the Ayyubid dynasty. He played a crucial role in the defense of the Levant against the Crusaders and was known for his military prowess and strategic acumen.
In the modern era, Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah (1929-2020) was the Emir of Kuwait from 2006 to 2020. He was widely respected for his efforts in promoting regional stability and economic development in the Persian Gulf region.
Additionally, Sabah Amir (1944-2016) was an influential Egyptian writer and literary critic. Her works, which explored themes of feminism and social justice, earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature.
Sabah Fakhri (1933-2022) was a renowned Syrian singer and actress, often referred to as the "Queen of Syrian Song." Her iconic voice and performances captivated audiences across the Arab world, and she played a significant role in preserving and promoting Syrian cultural heritage.
People
Sabah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sabah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sabah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sabah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 507 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sabah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 676,044 US residents.
Is Sabah a common name?
We classify Sabah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 522 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sabah most popular?
The single biggest year for Sabah was 1996, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sabah is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sabah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,488 people with the name Sabah, or 0.82 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,441 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Sabah in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Sabah?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sabah on both sides of the split. Of the 2,487 people counted with this name, 772 were male (31.0%) and 1,715 were female (69.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Sabah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sabah is White at 68.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (18.1%) and Black (6.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Sabah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sabah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.4% (1,702 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Sabah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sabah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sabah in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Sabah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sabah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Sabah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Sabah?
See how many people share the name Sabah on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.