How rare is the name Sahara?

4,133 people in the United States have the first name Sahara, about 1 in 73,078. It ranks #4,487 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

SAHARA

#4,487

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
4,133
About
1 in 73,078
This common or more
84.1%
Who bears it

Of the 4,133 people named Sahara, 29.4% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 28.5% as Black and 26.5% as White. 98.9% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Sahara peaked in 2006, when 248 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19642025
Peak year
2006
Births that year
248
In 2025*
98 ▼60%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 4,734 babies have been given the name since 1964. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Sahara by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2000s, when it ranked #2,448. The largest share of babies named Sahara, 49.3%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1960s#17,2535
1970s#8,62593
1980s#5,676238
1990s#3,249744
2000s#2,4481,551
2010s#2,9091,347
2020s#3,043756
Baby boom 1946–640.1%
Generation X 1965–802.2%
Millennials 1981–9614.5%
Generation Z 1997–1249.3%
2013 and later33.9%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Sahara is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Sahara has been most common in Florida (3.3×), California (2.5×), and New York (1.7×), and least common in Ohio (0.48×).

2,696 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Sahara

#4,485 Konrad · 4,139#4,486 Jovanny · 4,138#4,488 Aliah · 4,131#4,489 Ashraf · 4,129

Spelled almost the same

6 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Sahara, most common first.

#3,725 Sahar · 5,431#8,303 Sahra · 1,752#13,912 Sahira · 857#20,595 Saara · 500#44,535 Saharah · 155#47,514 Saharra · 137

Also a last name

As a last name, Sahara ranks #111,467 of 156,621, with 168 people. See Sahara as a last name

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