Fun Facts About the Name Sabrina
- A favorite of earlier generations: Sabrina appeared in the U.S. top 100 in 2 separate runs, totaling 10 years. Its last run lasted 8 consecutive years, from 1993 through 2000.
- More than 142 thousand babies named Sabrina: U.S. records list 142,936 babies given the name Sabrina from 1880 through 2025. Even 347 boys received the name Sabrina - about 1 boy for every 411 girls.
What Does the Name Sabrina Mean?
Sabrina is the Latin name of the River Severn, the longest river in Britain, and the given name comes from that river name rather than from an ordinary word with a translatable sense. In Welsh the river is Hafren, as in Aber Hafren, the mouth of the Severn; the Latin and Welsh forms go back to a shared older Brittonic name that has not been securely explained. The Welsh form shows the regular loss of an initial s that Latin kept, which is why the same river appears as Sabrina and Hafren. Since the name began as a river name, its literal sense is simply "the Severn." The familiar explanation of Sabrina as "princess" belongs to a medieval legend about the river, not to the word's origin.
Sabrina Name History & Origins
The name Sabrina is a river name before it is a personal name. Roman-era geographical writing uses Sabrina for the Severn, the waterway that runs from mid-Wales to the Bristol Channel and forms part of the border between Wales and England. The given name was later taken from this Latin form.
Medieval British legend supplied a story to explain the river's name. In Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain (12th century), Sabrina is the daughter of King Locrinus and Estrildis. After Locrinus is killed in battle, his wife Gwendolen orders the girl and her mother drowned in the river, and the river is said to take Sabrina's name. The tale is a legendary origin story, not a record of how the river was actually named.
Sabrina later appears in English poetry as a spirit of the river. Edmund Spenser names her among the rivers in The Faerie Queene, and John Milton gives her a central role in Comus (1634), where the song "Sabrina fair" calls on her to free a trapped lady. The name also came into use as an ordinary given name in the English-speaking world, and it is used in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. In the 20th century it belonged to the title character of the film Sabrina (1954) and to the teenage witch of the Archie Comics series Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which began in 1962 and was later adapted for television.
How Popular is the Name Sabrina?
Sabrina recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1997. Sabrina ranked among the top 100 U.S. names from 1977 through 1978, then returned in 1993 and remained through 2000.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #321 | 956 | 0.0595% |
| 2024 | #357 | 869 | 0.0539% |
| 2023 | #396 | 776 | 0.0484% |
| 2022 | #413 | 760 | 0.0464% |
| 2021 | #401 | 790 | 0.0482% |
| 2020 | #388 | 804 | 0.0498% |
| 2019 | #392 | 788 | 0.0470% |
| 2018 | #428 | 737 | 0.0433% |
| 2017 | #432 | 740 | 0.0429% |
| 2016 | #371 | 880 | 0.0497% |
| 2015 | #353 | 926 | 0.0519% |
| 2014 | #333 | 1,009 | 0.0565% |
| 2013 | #281 | 1,131 | 0.0645% |
| 2012 | #273 | 1,191 | 0.0676% |
| 2011 | #261 | 1,230 | 0.0699% |
| 2010 | #219 | 1,433 | 0.0806% |
| 2009 | #214 | 1,511 | 0.0823% |
| 2008 | #186 | 1,823 | 0.0964% |
| 2007 | #197 | 1,729 | 0.0899% |
| 2006 | #196 | 1,794 | 0.0944% |
| 2005 | #169 | 1,979 | 0.1071% |
| 2004 | #150 | 2,190 | 0.1193% |
| 2003 | #137 | 2,397 | 0.1312% |
| 2002 | #135 | 2,533 | 0.1410% |
| 2001 | #116 | 2,921 | 0.1622% |
| 2000 | #92 | 3,470 | 0.1911% |
| 1999 | #88 | 3,650 | 0.2058% |
| 1998 | #68 | 4,608 | 0.2608% |
| 1997 | #53 | 5,816 | 0.3341% |
| 1996 | #58 | 5,774 | 0.3294% |
| 1995 | #95 | 3,534 | 0.2010% |
| 1994 | #97 | 3,384 | 0.1895% |
| 1993 | #97 | 3,322 | 0.1836% |
| 1992 | #112 | 2,949 | 0.1599% |
| 1991 | #115 | 2,904 | 0.1549% |
| 1990 | #118 | 2,722 | 0.1434% |
| 1989 | #116 | 2,572 | 0.1395% |
| 1988 | #116 | 2,437 | 0.1368% |
| 1987 | #110 | 2,543 | 0.1463% |
| 1986 | #120 | 2,313 | 0.1348% |
| 1985 | #129 | 2,267 | 0.1317% |
| 1984 | #122 | 2,306 | 0.1370% |
| 1983 | #111 | 2,554 | 0.1529% |
| 1982 | #128 | 2,370 | 0.1400% |
| 1981 | #120 | 2,496 | 0.1496% |
| 1980 | #113 | 2,779 | 0.1674% |
| 1979 | #106 | 2,870 | 0.1788% |
| 1978 | #91 | 3,350 | 0.2187% |
| 1977 | #63 | 4,305 | 0.2808% |
| 1976 | #146 | 1,855 | 0.1266% |
| 1975 | #190 | 1,328 | 0.0911% |
| 1974 | #192 | 1,325 | 0.0903% |
| 1973 | #173 | 1,601 | 0.1098% |
| 1972 | #152 | 1,880 | 0.1236% |
| 1971 | #133 | 2,417 | 0.1453% |
| 1970 | #107 | 3,568 | 0.2041% |
| 1969 | #166 | 1,944 | 0.1152% |
| 1968 | #193 | 1,638 | 0.0999% |
| 1967 | #133 | 2,628 | 0.1592% |
| 1966 | #275 | 940 | 0.0556% |
| 1965 | #320 | 789 | 0.0447% |
| 1964 | #314 | 879 | 0.0464% |
| 1963 | #314 | 884 | 0.0459% |
| 1962 | #315 | 884 | 0.0449% |
| 1961 | #308 | 885 | 0.0438% |
| 1960 | #294 | 983 | 0.0486% |
| 1959 | #317 | 859 | 0.0425% |
| 1958 | #309 | 860 | 0.0428% |
| 1957 | #301 | 913 | 0.0446% |
| 1956 | #281 | 956 | 0.0476% |
| 1955 | #245 | 1,121 | 0.0573% |
| 1954 | #805 | 137 | 0.0071% |
| 1953 | #2,289 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1952 | #2,566 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1951 | #3,082 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1950 | #3,198 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1948 | #3,559 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1947 | #5,987 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1943 | #4,132 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1942 | #4,559 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1941 | #3,892 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1940 | #4,269 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1939 | #4,177 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1919 | #4,729 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1916 | #5,049 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | #12,989 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #9,749 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2000 | #7,289 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #6,210 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1997 | #7,962 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1996 | #5,129 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1995 | #5,829 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1994 | #7,610 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1993 | #5,702 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #5,573 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1991 | #9,354 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1990 | #4,626 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1989 | #3,303 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1988 | #5,649 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #4,518 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1986 | #5,246 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1985 | #3,762 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1984 | #3,645 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1983 | #3,585 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1982 | #4,517 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1981 | #3,001 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1980 | #4,437 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1979 | #2,754 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1978 | #4,486 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #2,118 | 23 | 0.0014% |
| 1976 | #3,230 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1975 | #6,168 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #3,410 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1972 | #3,559 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1971 | #5,523 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1970 | #3,243 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1969 | #2,660 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1968 | #3,322 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1967 | #2,585 | 11 | 0.0006% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Explore Name Lists Featuring Sabrina
Carl appears in several baby name collections based on U.S. popularity records, naming trends, and name characteristics. Explore these lists to discover other names with similar histories, styles, or features.
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How the Name Sabrina Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are spiritually intense and can sting or charm. Your name brings love and new starts into life and attracts money. In business, you are the creator and promoter of original ideas and usually enjoy considerable financial success. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Sabrina's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Sabrina's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.