Sanaa
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- sa-NAH
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #3,776 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #2,099 for girls
Sanaa is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “brilliance; radiance”. In 2025 it ranked 3,776th for girls in the UK (6 babies) and 2,099th for girls in the US (89 babies).
What does Sanaa mean?
Arabic: Arabic Sana; also the Swahili word for art
“brilliance; radiance”
In Swahili, sanaa is the word for 'art'.
Is Sanaa a girl's or a boy's name?
Sanaa is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 6 girls in the UK and 89 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Sanaa in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #3,776among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 6about 1 in 46,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 14% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 6 girls in the UK were named Sanaa, making it the 3,776th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,110th. Its busiest year was 2001, with 61 girls.
2025 had fewer girls named Sanaa than any year since 2020.
Half of all the girls named Sanaa in the UK since 1996 were born between 2001 and 2011. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 3,704th in England and Wales.
Sanaa in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | #3,776 |
| 2024 | 15 | #1,953 |
| 2023 | 9 | #2,841 |
| 2022 | 11 | #2,450 |
| 2021 | 14 | #2,069 |
| 2020 | 5 | #4,110 |
| 2019 | 9 | #2,792 |
| 2018 | 21 | #1,577 |
| 2017 | 16 | #1,913 |
| 2016 | 17 | #1,853 |
| 2015 | 20 | #1,622 |
| 2014 | 19 | #1,656 |
| 2013 | 25 | #1,402 |
| 2012 | 32 | #1,150 |
| 2011 | 38 | #997 |
| 2010 | 30 | #1,167 |
| 2009 | 37 | #962 |
| 2008 | 45 | #825 |
| 2007 | 48 | #754 |
| 2006 | 33 | #955 |
| 2005 | 54 | #644 |
| 2004 | 46 | #690 |
| 2003 | 50 | #632 |
| 2002 | 49 | #619 |
| 2001 | 61 | #528 |
| 2000 | 51 | #590 |
| 1999 | 36 | #722 |
| 1998 | 33 | #775 |
| 1997 | 27 | #895 |
| 1996 | 20 | #1,061 |
How popular is Sanaa in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,099among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 89about 1 in 18,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Fallingdown 42% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 89 girls in the US were named Sanaa, making it the 2,099th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,494th. Its busiest year was 2006, with 482 girls. It first appears in the records in 1977.
Half of all the girls named Sanaa in the US since 1880 were born between 2005 and 2014, the years shaded on the chart below.
Sanaa in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 89 | #2,099 |
| 2024 | 77 | #2,362 |
| 2023 | 90 | #2,124 |
| 2022 | 94 | #2,048 |
| 2021 | 108 | #1,851 |
| 2020 | 143 | #1,494 |
| 2019 | 136 | #1,569 |
| 2018 | 162 | #1,386 |
| 2017 | 192 | #1,240 |
| 2016 | 217 | #1,158 |
| 2015 | 201 | #1,227 |
| 2014 | 219 | #1,140 |
| 2013 | 199 | #1,203 |
| 2012 | 237 | #1,060 |
| 2011 | 290 | #898 |
| 2010 | 349 | #789 |
| 2009 | 397 | #730 |
| 2008 | 384 | #765 |
| 2007 | 438 | #671 |
| 2006 | 482 | #605 |
| 2005 | 312 | #823 |
| 2004 | 407 | #675 |
| 2003 | 310 | #797 |
| 2002 | 207 | #1,038 |
| 2001 | 213 | #1,009 |
| 2000 | 28 | #4,286 |
| 1999 | 11 | #8,216 |
| 1998 | 13 | #7,099 |
| 1997 | 13 | #6,839 |
| 1996 | 10 | #8,127 |
| 1995 | 11 | #7,509 |
| 1994 | 5 | #13,423 |
| 1993 | 8 | #9,552 |
| 1992 | 7 | #10,471 |
| 1991 | 17 | #5,393 |
| 1990 | 9 | #8,495 |
| 1989 | 8 | #8,755 |
| 1988 | 8 | #8,386 |
| 1987 | 7 | #8,773 |
| 1986 | 10 | #6,609 |
| 1985 | 10 | #6,455 |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 5 | #10,272 |
| 1982 | 8 | #7,467 |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 5 | #9,650 |
Names like Sanaa
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Safaa Zainab Hafsa Aaliyah Hiba Salma Ayah Safiya Sumayyah Summer Rahma
Names related to Sanaa
Sana Shanaya Siana Sanaya Sahana Sanna Sania Saniya Sanai Shana
More Arabic names
Muhammad Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Amir Amira Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Hamza
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, “Sanaa: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/sanaa, updated 20 October 2026.