Sahara
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- sa-HAH-ra
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #3,409 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #1,962 for girls
Sahara is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “desert”. In 2025 it ranked 3,409th for girls in the UK (7 babies) and 1,962nd for girls in the US (98 babies).
What does Sahara mean?
Arabic
“desert”
Named after the great African desert, whose name comes from the Arabic word for desert.
Is Sahara a girl's or a boy's name?
Sahara is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 7 girls in the UK and 98 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Sahara in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,409th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 7 about 1 in 40,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 30% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 7 girls in the UK were named Sahara, making it the 3,409th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,780th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 42 girls.
2025 had fewer girls named Sahara than any year since 2001.
Half of all the girls named Sahara in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2017. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 3,332nd in England and Wales.
Sahara in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | #3,409 |
| 2024 | 19 | #1,662 |
| 2023 | 22 | #1,497 |
| 2022 | 17 | #1,794 |
| 2021 | 18 | #1,726 |
| 2020 | 17 | #1,780 |
| 2019 | 23 | #1,439 |
| 2018 | 29 | #1,237 |
| 2017 | 19 | #1,711 |
| 2016 | 15 | #2,015 |
| 2015 | 29 | #1,244 |
| 2014 | 34 | #1,100 |
| 2013 | 27 | #1,324 |
| 2012 | 33 | #1,128 |
| 2011 | 31 | #1,165 |
| 2010 | 41 | #919 |
| 2009 | 35 | #996 |
| 2008 | 42 | #855 |
| 2007 | 35 | #941 |
| 2006 | 41 | #809 |
| 2005 | 25 | #1,077 |
| 2004 | 16 | #1,488 |
| 2003 | 20 | #1,216 |
| 2002 | 13 | #1,553 |
| 2001 | 6 | #2,587 |
| 2000 | 12 | #1,593 |
| 1999 | 8 | #2,089 |
| 1998 | 8 | #2,110 |
| 1997 | 10 | #1,780 |
| 1996 | 11 | #1,621 |
How popular is Sahara in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,962nd among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 98 about 1 in 16,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 15% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 98 girls in the US were named Sahara, making it the 1,962nd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,494th. Its busiest year was 2006, with 248 girls. It first appears in the records in 1964.
2025 had fewer girls named Sahara than any year since 2003.
Half of all the girls named Sahara in the US since 1880 were born between 2000 and 2016, the years shaded on the chart below.
Sahara in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 98 | #1,962 |
| 2024 | 126 | #1,637 |
| 2023 | 123 | #1,681 |
| 2022 | 133 | #1,590 |
| 2021 | 133 | #1,577 |
| 2020 | 143 | #1,494 |
| 2019 | 142 | #1,523 |
| 2018 | 121 | #1,710 |
| 2017 | 127 | #1,686 |
| 2016 | 103 | #1,942 |
| 2015 | 121 | #1,731 |
| 2014 | 111 | #1,830 |
| 2013 | 126 | #1,675 |
| 2012 | 144 | #1,530 |
| 2011 | 180 | #1,307 |
| 2010 | 172 | #1,357 |
| 2009 | 169 | #1,398 |
| 2008 | 201 | #1,250 |
| 2007 | 248 | #1,057 |
| 2006 | 248 | #1,033 |
| 2005 | 200 | #1,158 |
| 2004 | 101 | #1,870 |
| 2003 | 83 | #2,103 |
| 2002 | 96 | #1,851 |
| 2001 | 92 | #1,883 |
| 2000 | 108 | #1,630 |
| 1999 | 110 | #1,537 |
| 1998 | 94 | #1,688 |
| 1997 | 81 | #1,825 |
| 1996 | 72 | #1,962 |
| 1995 | 80 | #1,783 |
| 1994 | 76 | #1,857 |
| 1993 | 63 | #2,122 |
| 1992 | 70 | #1,960 |
| 1991 | 50 | #2,478 |
| 1990 | 48 | #2,487 |
| 1989 | 45 | #2,522 |
| 1988 | 43 | #2,484 |
| 1987 | 39 | #2,570 |
| 1986 | 30 | #3,052 |
| 1985 | 28 | #3,169 |
| 1984 | 12 | #5,538 |
| 1983 | 8 | #7,310 |
| 1982 | 13 | #5,207 |
| 1981 | 10 | #6,321 |
| 1980 | 10 | #6,318 |
| 1979 | 16 | #4,419 |
| 1978 | 19 | #3,777 |
| 1977 | 14 | #4,651 |
| 1976 | 7 | #7,294 |
| 1975 | 7 | #7,171 |
| 1974 | 5 | #8,773 |
| 1973 | 5 | #8,421 |
| 1972 | 5 | #8,290 |
| 1971 | 9 | #5,541 |
| 1970 | 6 | #7,069 |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 5 | #6,766 |
Names like Sahara
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa, Amira, Khadija, Aaliyah, Hafsa, Aisha, Safiya, Hiba, Zainab, Halima, Sumayyah, Summer
Names related to Sahara
Sarah, Saarah, Saara, Sahar, Zahara, Sahra, Sahira, Saher, Sahari
More Arabic names
Muhammad, Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Amir, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Zayn, Omar, Zahra, Hamza, Kairo, Liyana
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Sahara: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/sahara, updated 20 October 2026.