Sarai

What Sarai means

Means “master, chief”

From Hebrew שרי (Saráy), from the plural form of שר (“master, chief”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Sarai” (revision 93878739), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Sarai?

US: Steady: #438 in 2015, #424 now. England & Wales: Steady: #1649 in 2015, #1512 now.

Biggest US share so far: 2023, when 749 girls got the name (#408 that year). First in the US records in 1953.

How common

• About 1 in 2,193 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 12,664 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DC (2.48 per 1,000 girls), RI (2.04 per 1,000 girls), LA (1.16 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Sarai is #424 in the US and #1512 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Sarai were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Sarah2,710 US · 371 E&W
• Zara1,432 US · 625 E&W
• Sara1,568 US · 427 E&W
• Zarah151 US · 42 E&W
• Suri100 US · 28 E&W
• Sora99 US · 6 E&W
• Saira79 US · 20 E&W
• Zari67 US · 11 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Saraj
• Saray

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Sarai

Girls

• Selah#216“to hang”^*
• Ava#11Editor’s note Down from #4 in 2015 to #11 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 210 US girls in the 2025 records
• Maya#62Editor’s note Steady in the US: #68 in 2015 and #62 in 2025. About 1 in 430 US girls in the 2025 records
• Isabella#7Form of Isabel, meaning “my God is an oath”^*
• Azaria#638Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1988, with 6 babies
• Lilah#179Editor’s note Up from #314 in 2015 to #179 in 2025 in the US

For a brother

• Malachi#134“my messenger”^*
• Elijah#7“Yahweh is my god”^*
• Nehemiah#429“consolation of Yahweh”^*
• Micah#90“who is like Yahweh”^*
• Johan#572Variant of Joan, meaning “God is gracious”^*
• Josiah#54Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #54 vs #226 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Sarai’s. Rank is US 2025.