Saralou
A French feminine name meaning "princess" or "little warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Saralou. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Saralou today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Saralou births was 1934 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Saralou. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Saralou is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Saralous were born before 1954.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Saralou. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1934
6 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1942 SSA rank
#5,263
Tracked since 1934
Popularity
Saralou: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Saralou from the 1930s through to the 1940s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 11 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Saralou 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 Saralou 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 Saralou
The name Saralou has its origins in a combination of two names - Sara and Lou. The name Sara is a Hebrew name derived from the biblical matriarch Sarah, meaning "princess" or "noblewoman". It is a variant of the Hebrew name Sarah, which has been in use since ancient times.
The name Lou, on the other hand, is a diminutive form of the French name Louise, which itself is derived from the Germanic name Hlodwig or Clovis. This name was borne by the founder of the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings, Clovis I (466-511 AD), who united the Franks and converted to Christianity.
The earliest recorded use of the name Saralou dates back to the 19th century, when it began appearing in various records and documents. One of the earliest known individuals with the name Saralou was Saralou Harter (1847-1921), an American painter and artist who was known for her still-life and landscape paintings.
Another notable figure in history with the name Saralou was Saralou Brumfield (1895-1978), an American social worker and activist who worked tirelessly for the rights of African Americans and women in the early 20th century. She was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement and a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
In the world of literature, Saralou Meredith (1902-1985) was an American novelist and short story writer who gained recognition for her works exploring the lives of ordinary people in rural settings. Her novel "The Harvest of Years" was widely acclaimed and received several literary awards.
The name Saralou also found its way into the realm of music with Saralou Butz (1917-2006), an American singer and actress who performed in several Broadway musicals and television shows during the mid-20th century. She was known for her powerful voice and stage presence.
Another notable individual with the name Saralou was Saralou Hendrix (1928-2014), an American artist and educator who was renowned for her abstract expressionist paintings and her contributions to art education. She taught at various universities and inspired generations of aspiring artists.
While the name Saralou is not as common as its individual components, Sara and Lou, it has a rich history and has been borne by remarkable individuals who have left their mark in various fields throughout the centuries.
People
Saralou + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Saralou 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
Saralou: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Saralou?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Saralou 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Saralou a common name?
We classify Saralou as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Saralou most popular?
The single biggest year for Saralou was 1934, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Saralou is about 82 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Saralou a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Saralou 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.