Saraiya
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "child of a pond".
Name Census estimates that about 276 living Americans carry the first name Saraiya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Saraiya today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Saraiya births was 2017 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Saraiya. 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 Saraiya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
276
~ 1 in 1,241,864 Americans
Peak year
2017
26 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,417
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Saraiya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Saraiya 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 136 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Saraiya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Saraiya 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 Saraiya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Saraiyas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Saraiya
The name Saraiya is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is likely derived from the Sanskrit word "sarā," meaning "essence" or "quintessence," combined with the feminine suffix "-iya." This suggests that the name Saraiya may have been used to denote a person's essential or quintessential nature.
The earliest recorded use of the name Saraiya can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Puranas. In these texts, the name is often associated with goddesses and divine feminine figures, reflecting the reverence and importance placed on the feminine principle in Hindu mythology and culture.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Saraiya was Saraiya Devi, a prominent figure in the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. She was the wife of the legendary king Harishchandra and was renowned for her devotion, wisdom, and unwavering commitment to truth and righteousness.
Another notable figure in history with the name Saraiya was Saraiya Bai, a 16th-century Indian classical musician and poet from the Bundelkhand region of central India. She was a renowned exponent of the Dhrupad style of Hindustani classical music and composed several celebrated poetic works in the Braj Bhasha language.
In the 18th century, Saraiya Devi Giri was a highly revered Hindu saint and spiritual leader from the Nath tradition. She was known for her profound wisdom, mystical teachings, and contributions to the bhakti (devotional) movement in India.
Saraiya Raghunath Deva was a prominent 19th-century Indian poet and writer from Bengal, who composed numerous works in the Bengali language, including poems, plays, and prose pieces. His writings were known for their depth, eloquence, and exploration of spiritual and philosophical themes.
In the early 20th century, Saraiya Bano was a renowned Pakistani singer and actress who made significant contributions to the Pakistani film industry. She was celebrated for her melodious voice, acting skills, and her ability to bring depth and emotion to her performances.
While the name Saraiya has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu culture, it has transcended linguistic and cultural boundaries over time and has been adopted by various communities around the world, each adding their own unique cultural and linguistic nuances to its meaning and significance.
People
Saraiya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Saraiya 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
Saraiya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Saraiya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 276 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Saraiya 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 1,241,864 US residents.
Is Saraiya a common name?
We classify Saraiya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 278 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Saraiya most popular?
The single biggest year for Saraiya was 2017, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Saraiya is about 11 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 Saraiya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Saraiya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Saraiya 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 Saraiya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Saraiya 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 Saraiya 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 common is the name Saraiya?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.