Sanam
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- SA-nam
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #3,409 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #8,858 for girls
Sanam is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “beloved”. In 2025 it ranked 3,409th for girls in the UK (7 babies) and 8,858th for girls in the US (11 babies).
What does Sanam mean?
Arabic: Arabic sanam 'idol', which in Persian and Urdu poetry means 'beloved'
“beloved”
Is Sanam a girl's or a boy's name?
Sanam is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 7 girls in the UK and 11 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Sanam in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #3,409among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 7about 1 in 40,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadymuch the same
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 7 girls in the UK were named Sanam, making it the 3,409th most popular name for girls. Its busiest year was 2008, with 15 girls.
2025 had more girls named Sanam than any year since 2015.
Half of all the girls named Sanam in the UK since 1996 were born between 2001 and 2014. 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.
Sanam in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | #3,409 |
| 2024 | 4 | #4,907 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 6 | #3,728 |
| 2021 | 6 | #3,697 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 6 | #3,738 |
| 2018 | 5 | #4,204 |
| 2017 | 4 | #4,967 |
| 2016 | 5 | #4,290 |
| 2015 | 9 | #2,855 |
| 2014 | 5 | #4,187 |
| 2013 | 4 | #4,953 |
| 2012 | 7 | #3,471 |
| 2011 | 4 | #4,980 |
| 2010 | 7 | #3,308 |
| 2009 | 10 | #2,478 |
| 2008 | 15 | #1,840 |
| 2007 | 7 | #3,060 |
| 2006 | 7 | #2,940 |
| 2005 | 8 | #2,555 |
| 2004 | 9 | #2,226 |
| 2003 | 8 | #2,320 |
| 2002 | 9 | #2,040 |
| 2001 | 12 | #1,637 |
| 2000 | 6 | #2,554 |
| 1999 | 11 | #1,653 |
| 1998 | 9 | #1,951 |
| 1997 | 12 | #1,559 |
| 1996 | 11 | #1,621 |
How popular is Sanam in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #8,858among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 11about 1 in 150,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 11 girls in the US were named Sanam, making it the 8,858th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 11,085th. Its busiest year was 1997, with 25 girls. It first appears in the records in 1979.
Half of all the girls named Sanam in the US since 1880 were born between 1991 and 2011, the years shaded on the chart below.
Sanam in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11 | #8,858 |
| 2024 | 0 | – |
| 2023 | 5 | #15,188 |
| 2022 | 16 | #6,979 |
| 2021 | 16 | #6,962 |
| 2020 | 8 | #11,085 |
| 2019 | 10 | #9,730 |
| 2018 | 12 | #8,612 |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 7 | #12,871 |
| 2015 | 18 | #6,719 |
| 2014 | 7 | #13,063 |
| 2013 | 6 | #14,577 |
| 2012 | 9 | #11,251 |
| 2011 | 5 | #16,756 |
| 2010 | 11 | #9,786 |
| 2009 | 6 | #15,236 |
| 2008 | 6 | #15,399 |
| 2007 | 9 | #11,626 |
| 2006 | 14 | #8,234 |
| 2005 | 11 | #9,447 |
| 2004 | 9 | #10,684 |
| 2003 | 10 | #9,666 |
| 2002 | 9 | #10,240 |
| 2001 | 19 | #5,817 |
| 2000 | 15 | #6,802 |
| 1999 | 17 | #5,890 |
| 1998 | 10 | #8,579 |
| 1997 | 25 | #4,236 |
| 1996 | 19 | #5,060 |
| 1995 | 16 | #5,672 |
| 1994 | 11 | #7,598 |
| 1993 | 16 | #5,667 |
| 1992 | 10 | #8,057 |
| 1991 | 16 | #5,653 |
| 1990 | 16 | #5,544 |
| 1989 | 12 | #6,525 |
| 1988 | 8 | #8,386 |
| 1987 | 6 | #9,820 |
| 1986 | 16 | #4,721 |
| 1985 | 11 | #6,029 |
| 1984 | 11 | #5,898 |
| 1983 | 6 | #9,013 |
| 1982 | 10 | #6,369 |
| 1981 | 7 | #8,126 |
| 1980 | 5 | #10,390 |
| 1979 | 6 | #9,008 |
Names like Sanam
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Zainab Summer Aaliyah Ayah Sumayyah Hiba Salma Safaa Safiya Hafsa Ilham
Names related to Sanam
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, “Sanam: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/sanam, updated 20 October 2026.