Saraia
A unisex name of Hebrew origin meaning "princess of God".
Name Census estimates that about 150 living Americans carry the first name Saraia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Saraia today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Saraia births was 2024 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Saraia. 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
150
~ 1 in 2,285,029 Americans
Peak year
2024
12 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,840
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Saraia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Saraia from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 60 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Saraia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Saraia 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 Saraia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Saraia
The name Saraia has its roots in ancient Semitic languages, with possible origins tracing back to the Akkadian and Aramaic tongues of the Middle East. The name itself is derived from the Hebrew word "Sarah," meaning "princess" or "noblewoman." It is believed to have been in use as early as the 6th century BC.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Saraia can be found in the biblical Book of Ezra, where it refers to a Levite who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile. This suggests that the name was already in circulation among the ancient Israelites during the Persian period.
In the centuries that followed, the name Saraia appeared sporadically in various historical records and texts. One notable figure was Saraia ben Hushai, a 12th-century Jewish scholar and commentator on the Talmud. He was born in Normandy, France, and is renowned for his contributions to the study of Jewish law and tradition.
During the Middle Ages, the name Saraia found its way into the Arabic world, where it was sometimes spelled as "Saraiya" or "Sarayah." One of the earliest known bearers of this Arabic variant was Saraiya al-Ghassani, a 7th-century Arab poetess from the Ghassanid kingdom in the Levant region.
In more recent times, the name Saraia has been borne by several notable individuals. Saraia Mendoza, a Venezuelan actress and model born in 1984, has gained recognition for her roles in various telenovelas and films. Another contemporary figure is Saraia Reid, a British singer and songwriter born in 1995, who is known for her work in the R&B and pop genres.
Other individuals with the name Saraia include Saraia Stanfield, an American actress and writer born in 1976, and Saraia Wilson, a New Zealand rugby league player born in 1994, who has represented her country at the international level.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples showcase the enduring presence of the name Saraia across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its rich historical roots and diverse cultural influences.
People
Saraia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Saraia 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
Saraia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Saraia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 150 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Saraia 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 2,285,029 US residents.
Is Saraia a common name?
We classify Saraia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 151 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Saraia most popular?
The single biggest year for Saraia was 2024, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Saraia is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Saraia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Saraia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Saraia 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 Saraia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Saraia 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 Saraia 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Saraia?
You can see how many people share the name Saraia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.