Sailor
- Gender
- Mostly girls
- Say it
- SAY-ler
- Origin
- English
- UK rank, 2025
- #3,776 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #1,132 for girls
Sailor is a name of English origin, meaning “seafarer”. In 2025 it ranked 3,776th for girls in the UK (6 babies) and 1,132nd for girls in the US (206 babies).
What does Sailor mean?
English: English word
“seafarer”
Is Sailor a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Sailor has been given to girls and boys, mostly girls. In 2025, it was given to 6 girls and 3 boys in the UK and 206 girls and 40 boys in the US.
How popular is Sailor in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,776th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 6 about 1 in 46,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 17% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 6 girls in the UK were named Sailor, making it the 3,776th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,009th. Its busiest year was 2020, with 8 girls. 3 boys were also named Sailor in 2025 (5,065th for boys).
2025 had more girls named Sailor than any year since 2020.
Half of all the girls named Sailor in the UK since 1996 were born between 2017 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 22 girls in the UK were given Sailor or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,274, up from #3,776 for this spelling alone.
- Saylor 16
- Sailor 6
Among girls in 2025, it was 3,704th in England and Wales.
Sailor in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | #3,776 |
| 2024 | 5 | #4,253 |
| 2023 | 4 | #4,915 |
| 2022 | 4 | #4,870 |
| 2021 | 4 | #4,864 |
| 2020 | 8 | #3,009 |
| 2019 | 6 | #3,738 |
| 2018 | 4 | #4,914 |
| 2017 | 4 | #4,967 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 4 | #4,888 |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 5 | #4,390 |
| 2011 | 5 | #4,244 |
How popular is Sailor in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,132nd among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 206 about 1 in 7,800 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 3% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 206 girls in the US were named Sailor, making it the 1,132nd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,085th. Its busiest year was 2016, with 245 girls. It first appears in the records in 1998. 40 boys were also named Sailor in 2025 (3,035th for boys).
Half of all the girls named Sailor in the US since 1880 were born between 2012 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 1,669 girls in the US were given Sailor or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #220, up from #1,132 for this spelling alone.
In 2025, 84% of the babies named Sailor in the US were girls.
Sailor in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 206 | #1,132 |
| 2024 | 170 | #1,341 |
| 2023 | 230 | #1,075 |
| 2022 | 182 | #1,295 |
| 2021 | 213 | #1,148 |
| 2020 | 225 | #1,085 |
| 2019 | 208 | #1,156 |
| 2018 | 158 | #1,413 |
| 2017 | 243 | #1,055 |
| 2016 | 245 | #1,064 |
| 2015 | 237 | #1,092 |
| 2014 | 200 | #1,221 |
| 2013 | 135 | #1,587 |
| 2012 | 103 | #1,918 |
| 2011 | 111 | #1,817 |
| 2010 | 90 | #2,167 |
| 2009 | 85 | #2,286 |
| 2008 | 77 | #2,462 |
| 2007 | 74 | #2,509 |
| 2006 | 64 | #2,757 |
| 2005 | 42 | #3,505 |
| 2004 | 45 | #3,329 |
| 2003 | 55 | #2,797 |
| 2002 | 51 | #2,884 |
| 2001 | 52 | #2,804 |
| 2000 | 43 | #3,165 |
| 1999 | 49 | #2,779 |
| 1998 | 10 | #8,579 |
Names like Sailor
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Harper, Safa, Esme, Willow, Summer, River, Piper, Dua, Scarlett, Poppy, Ayra, Ayla
Other spellings of Sailor
More English names
Lily, Evelyn, Hudson, Ivy, Grace, Violet, Daisy, Riley, Oakley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie, Hazel, Carter, Harrison
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, “Sailor: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/sailor, updated 20 October 2026.