Sarai
A feminine Hebrew name meaning "princess" or "noblewoman".
Name Census estimates that about 21,791 living Americans carry the first name Sarai. It sits at #445 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sarai today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sarai births was 2007 (818 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sarai. 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.
People living today
22K
~ 1 in 15,729 Americans
Peak year
2007
818 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
1996 SSA rank
#445
Tracked since 1953
Gender
Gender distribution for Sarai
Out of the 22,187 babies given the name Sarai since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Sarai as a male name
- Ranked #8,829 in 1996
- 6 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1996 (6 births)
Sarai as a female name
- Ranked #445 in 2024
- 699 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (818 births)
Popularity
Sarai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sarai from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 7,207 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sarai remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sarai 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 Sarai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sarais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 42 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Sarai, while Rhode Island, Mississippi, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 477 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sarai
Sarai is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name Sarah. The name can be traced back to the ancient Semitic root "śrr," meaning "princess" or "noblewoman." It is believed to be one of the oldest recorded names in history, originating in the Middle East region.
In the Hebrew Bible, Sarai is the original name of Sarah, the wife of the patriarch Abraham. The Book of Genesis recounts how God changed her name from Sarai to Sarah, which means "princess," to reflect her role as the mother of nations. The name Sarai appears numerous times in the Torah and is deeply rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sarai can be found in the ancient city of Ur, located in modern-day Iraq, where Abraham and his family are believed to have lived before their migration to Canaan. Archaeological evidence suggests that the name was used in the region during the third millennium BCE.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Sarai. In the 11th century, Sarai of Kyiv was a Kievan Rus' princess who married the Grand Prince of Kiev, Yaroslav the Wise. Another notable bearer of the name was Sarai Shavit (1935-2003), an Israeli author and playwright known for her works exploring the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In the 15th century, Sarai Khanum (1475-1521) was a prominent figure in the Mughal Empire, serving as the chief consort of Emperor Babur and exerting significant influence over the court. Sarai Michelsen Riggs (1911-1991) was an American artist and illustrator who gained recognition for her works depicting scenes from everyday life in the rural American South.
Sarai Makdisi (1939-2021) was a prominent Lebanese academic and author, known for her contributions to the study of English literature and her advocacy for Palestinian rights. She was a respected figure in the literary and academic circles of the Middle East.
It is important to note that while the name Sarai has deep historical and cultural significance, particularly in the Judeo-Christian tradition, its popularity and usage have ebbed and flowed over time in different regions and cultures.
People
Sarai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sarai 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
Sarai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sarai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21,791 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sarai 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 15,729 US residents.
Is Sarai a common name?
We classify Sarai as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22,187 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sarai most popular?
The single biggest year for Sarai was 2007, when 818 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sarai is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sarai a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sarai 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.
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.