Sarafina
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- sa-ra-FEE-na
- Origin
- Hebrew
- US rank, 2025
- #5,916 for girls
Sarafina is a girls' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “burning ones”. In 2025 it ranked 5,916th for girls in the US (20 babies).
What does Sarafina mean?
Hebrew: variant of Serafina, from Hebrew seraphim via Latin
“burning ones”
Known from Sarafina!, Mbongeni Ngema's 1987 South African musical about the Soweto student uprising.
Is Sarafina a girl's or a boy's name?
Sarafina is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 20 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Sarafina in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,916among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 20about 1 in 80,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 5% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 20 girls in the US were named Sarafina, making it the 5,916th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 7,208th. Its busiest year was 1993, with 44 girls. It first appears in the records in 1914.
2025 had more girls named Sarafina than any year since 2018.
Half of all the girls named Sarafina in the US since 1880 were born between 1994 and 2015, the years shaded on the chart below.
Sarafina in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20 | #5,916 |
| 2024 | 16 | #6,928 |
| 2023 | 18 | #6,404 |
| 2022 | 12 | #8,536 |
| 2021 | 15 | #7,245 |
| 2020 | 15 | #7,208 |
| 2019 | 15 | #7,338 |
| 2018 | 27 | #4,886 |
| 2017 | 22 | #5,657 |
| 2016 | 24 | #5,444 |
| 2015 | 18 | #6,719 |
| 2014 | 18 | #6,711 |
| 2013 | 26 | #5,141 |
| 2012 | 21 | #6,107 |
| 2011 | 15 | #7,779 |
| 2010 | 12 | #9,227 |
| 2009 | 19 | #6,808 |
| 2008 | 20 | #6,556 |
| 2007 | 20 | #6,548 |
| 2006 | 21 | #6,123 |
| 2005 | 18 | #6,523 |
| 2004 | 15 | #7,386 |
| 2003 | 13 | #7,993 |
| 2002 | 15 | #7,039 |
| 2001 | 9 | #10,095 |
| 2000 | 12 | #8,020 |
| 1999 | 13 | #7,233 |
| 1998 | 15 | #6,355 |
| 1997 | 19 | #5,224 |
| 1996 | 30 | #3,627 |
| 1995 | 29 | #3,665 |
| 1994 | 25 | #4,110 |
| 1993 | 44 | #2,720 |
| 1992 | 25 | #4,082 |
| 1991 | 7 | #10,263 |
| 1990 | 12 | #6,861 |
| 1989 | 20 | #4,516 |
| 1988 | 16 | #5,060 |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 5 | #10,907 |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 5 | #5,561 |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 0 | – |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 0 | – |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 6 | #3,846 |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 5 | #4,723 |
| 1927 | 6 | #4,284 |
| 1926 | 0 | – |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 5 | #5,059 |
| 1923 | 0 | – |
| 1922 | 0 | – |
| 1921 | 0 | – |
| 1920 | 0 | – |
| 1919 | 0 | – |
| 1918 | 5 | #4,807 |
| 1917 | 0 | – |
| 1916 | 0 | – |
| 1915 | 0 | – |
| 1914 | 6 | #3,187 |
Nicknames for Sarafina
Names like Sarafina
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Zamira Hadassah Samira Salma Aaliyah Safiya Salem Zaira Zahara Amira Fatoumata
Names related to Sarafina
More Hebrew names
Noah Isabella Elijah James Jack Mia Ava Jude Ezra Benjamin Isaac Jacob Ethan Daniel Samuel Elias
Sources
Figures from 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, “Sarafina: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/sarafina, updated 20 October 2026.