Girl names that start with S run from the very top of the U.S. charts to the far edges of the birth records. Sophia sat at #5 in 2025, with Scarlett at #32, Sadie at #50, and Stella at #52, while Sigourney turned up in roughly one of every 333,333 births.
The letter has staying power. Olivia held the number one spot for girls for the seventh year running in 2025, and Sophia was still sitting in the top five beside her (1). Celestial picks are having a moment too: “celestial names like Celeste, Celine and Celia are currently fashionable for baby girls,” says Sophie Kihm, editor-in-chief of Nameberry (2), which puts Stella, Selene, Seren, and Starr in good company.
Every name below carries its origin, meaning, pronunciation, and where it actually sits in U.S. births, so you can tell a real rarity from a name that only sounds rare. Popular or unheard of, vintage or brand new, there is something here worth writing on a birth certificate.
Popularity at a Glance
The most popular names on this list in the United States, 1965 to 2025: Sophia, Scarlett, Sadie, Stella and Sawyer.
- Sophia
- Scarlett
- Sadie
- Stella
- Sawyer
100 Popular Female Names That Start with S
Read on to discover 100 gorgeous S names for girls for your little superstar!
Saana
Saana takes its name from the Saana mountain in Finland, a site the indigenous Sami people hold sacred. Five letters, two syllables, and a whole landscape behind it. American parents almost never reach for it, which is exactly the appeal for families with Finnish or Sami roots.
- Origin: Finnish
- Meaning: Mountain in Finland
- Pronunciation: SAH-nah
- Namesakes: Saana Saarteinen, a Finnish tennis player with a world ranking of #929 in doubles.
- Popularity: Saana has never come close to the U.S. top 1,000, and it last appeared in the federal birth data in 2011, at #19,031.
Sabeen
Sabeen began as a title, one that non-Muslim Arabs used for Muhammad and his followers, so it comes with more history than most short names carry. In the U.S. it sits firmly in the rare column, and a girl named Sabeen is unlikely to meet another. The sound is soft and unfussy, SAH-bean, and it needs no nickname to work.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Follower of another religion
- Pronunciation: SAH-bean
- Popularity: Sabeen has never reached the U.S. top 1,000. Its best showing was #6,068 in 1979, and it last turned up in the data in 2021.
Sabrina
Sabrina belongs to the River Severn in Welsh legend, though most Americans meet it through Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The comic character and her two television adaptations kept the name in steady circulation for decades. It peaked in 1997 and has drifted down since, sitting at 321st in 2025. That leaves it familiar without being everywhere, and Bri is right there if she wants a shorter version.
- Origin: Latin, Welsh
- Meaning: River Severn
- Pronunciation: sah-BREEN-ah
- Namesakes: Sabrina Debora Salerno, an Italian singer, and songwriter who sold over 20 million records worldwide.
- Popularity: Sabrina ranked 321st in the U.S. in 2025, a long way down from its high of 53rd in 1997.
Sachiko
Sachiko joins sachi, meaning happiness or good luck, with ko, meaning child, so the whole name reads as child of bliss. It has been used in Japan for generations while showing up in American records only in small numbers, most of them decades ago. Sachi makes a natural short form for daily use.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Child of bliss
- Pronunciation: SA-CHEE-KO
- Namesakes: Sachiko Kamachi, also known as Izumi Sakai, a Japanese pop singer, and member of the group Zard.
- Popularity: Sachiko last appeared in U.S. birth records in 2021, at #17,237. Its strongest year was 1930, at #1,455.
Sadaf
Sadaf means seashell, and by extension mother-of-pearl, which is about as pretty as a meaning gets. It is used across Pakistan and Iran, and it travels well because SA-daf gives English speakers nothing to trip over. American parents rarely choose it, so it stays quietly distinctive. For a family by the water, or one that simply loves the ocean, it is an easy yes.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Seashell
- Pronunciation: SA-daf
- Variations: Sedef
- Namesakes: Sadaf Taherian, an Iranian model and former actress who has appeared in several Iranian movies and television series.
- Popularity: Sadaf sat at #5,680 in the U.S. in 2025, a little below its 1987 best of #4,099.
Sadb
Sadb is old even by Irish standards, common in medieval Ireland and rare everywhere since. In Irish mythology, Sadb was the mother of the poet Oisin and was turned into a deer. The pronunciation, SIGH-ve, has almost nothing to do with the spelling, which is either the charm or the dealbreaker. It is too rare for the federal birth data to list at all. Parents who love Sadhbh and Sadbh usually know exactly what they are signing up for.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Sweet
- Pronunciation: SIGH-ve
- Variations: Sabia, Sadbh, Sadhbh
Sade
Sade arrived in American ears through the singer Sade Adu, whose given name was Helen; her parents called her by the short form of her Yoruba middle name, Folasade. The Yoruba meaning, rule with nobility, suits that history. Two pronunciations circulate, shah-DAY and SAH-day, so expect to state your preference early and often. Its 1986 peak tracks the singer’s rise almost exactly.
- Origin: Yoruba, Finnish
- Meaning: Rule with nobility, rain
- Pronunciation: shah-DAY, SAH-day
- Namesakes: Sade Adu, a Nigerian-born British singer known for her songs No Ordinary Love, Like a Tattoo, and Kiss of Life.
- Popularity: Sade peaked at #213 in the U.S. in 1986 and had slipped to #2,058 by 2025.
Sadia
Sadia is the Urdu and Bengali form of Sa’dia, an Arabic name meaning fortunate. It has been in U.S. records since 1973 without ever becoming common, which keeps it in the sweet spot between recognizable and unusual. Three syllables, no silent letters, no spelling battles ahead.
- Origin: Urdu, Bengali, Arabic
- Meaning: Fortunate
- Pronunciation: SA-dee-yah
- Variations: Sa’dia
- Namesakes: Sadia Khan, a Pakistani actress known for portraying Emaan in the TV show Khuda Aur Muhabbat.
- Popularity: Sadia ranked 4,339th in the U.S. in 2025. Its strongest year so far was 1998, at #2,722.
Sadie
Sadie started as a nickname for Sarah and has been in American birth records since 1880, which makes its current run less a comeback than a very long second act. It ranked 50th in 2025, one of only four names on this list still inside the top 100. The sound is playful, but the roots are firmly vintage, so it ages with her. Parents who want a name a toddler and a lawyer can both wear tend to land right here.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Lady, princess
- Pronunciation: SAY-dee
- Namesakes: Sadie Liza Frost, an English actress, producer, and fashion designer known for her fashion label Frost French.
- Popularity: Sadie ranked 50th in the U.S. in 2025, close to its modern high of 46th in 2014.
Saffron
Saffron names a spice and the crocus flower it comes from, and the word traveled to English from the Arabic za’faran, itself probably from a Persian root meaning gold leaves. As a name it is warm, a little bohemian, and instantly visual. American use stays low, so it reads as a deliberate choice rather than a trend. Nature names are having a long moment, and Saffron sits comfortably beside Sage and Sorrel.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Gold leaves
- Pronunciation: SAF-rahn
- Namesakes: Saffron Burrows, an English actress, and model featured in the films Circle of Friends, Wing Commander, and Deep Blue Sea.
- Popularity: Saffron has never entered the U.S. top 1,000, ranking 6,783rd in 2025.
Safiya
Safiya means pure, and it is used well beyond the Arabic-speaking world, including among the Hausa of West Africa and the Kazakhs of Central Asia. It comes from the masculine Safi and shares a family with Safia and Safiyya. Its U.S. rank has never been higher than it is now, so the name is climbing quietly rather than trending loudly. The rhythm, sa-FEE-yah, is soft without being fragile.
- Origin: Hausa, Kazakh, Arabic
- Meaning: Pure
- Pronunciation: sa-FEE-yah
- Variations: Safia, Safiyya, Safiyyah
- Namesakes: Safiya Nygaard, an American YouTuber known for her Bad Makeup Science series.
- Popularity: Safiya reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025, at #1,333.
Saga
In Norse mythology, Saga was a goddess tied to prophecy and wisdom, and the name traces back to the Old Norse sja, to see. In English the word means a long story where the hero comes through something enormous. That double reading, seer and epic, gives a very short name a lot of range.
- Origin: Old Norse, Swedish, Icelandic
- Meaning: Seeing one
- Pronunciation: SAH-gah
- Popularity: Saga sat at #6,784 in the U.S. in 2025, near its 2024 best of #6,358.
Sage
Sage works two ways at once: the fragrant herb and the word for someone wise. It is genuinely unisex on paper, though American parents have leaned girl with it since the early 2000s. One syllable, no nickname required, and it sits neatly beside Saffron and Sorrel for families who like plant names. It has hovered near the top 150 for several years now, which is popular without being unavoidable.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Wise, herb
- Pronunciation: SAYJ
- Variations: Saige
- Namesakes: Sage Fran
- Popularity: Sage ranked 160th in the U.S. in 2025, just off its 2023 high of 142nd.
Sahra
Sahra is an Arabic name for the desert, given to girls born in or beside one. It may also be a Persian name meaning battlefield or generous, depending on which root you follow. The sound sits so close to Sarah that Americans hear it as familiar and spell it as new. That combination, ordinary sound and uncommon spelling, is what a lot of parents are after.
- Origin: Arabic, Persian
- Meaning: Desert
- Pronunciation: SA-HA-ruh
- Variations: Zahrah
- Popularity: Sahra ranked 7,437th in the U.S. in 2025. It did best in 1986, at #3,738.
Sakura
Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom, built from saku, to blossom, with ra. The flower carries real weight in Japan, standing for beauty and for how briefly it lasts. As a name it is soft, springlike, and instantly picturable. American use is modest and steady rather than fashionable.
- Origin: Japanese
- Meaning: Cherry blossom
- Pronunciation: SA-KOO-RA
- Namesakes: Sakura Oda, a Japanese singer and member of the J-pop girl group Morning Musume.
- Popularity: Sakura ranked 2,925th in the U.S. in 2025, below its 2012 best of #2,186.
Salem
Salem carries two very different associations: the Old Testament town whose name comes from the Hebrew shalem, meaning safe and complete, and the Massachusetts town remembered for the 1692 witch trials. Parents pick it for either reason, or for the sound alone. It has climbed steadily and now sits in the mid-400s. Peaceful meaning, slightly gothic reputation, and no one has to ask how to spell it.
- Origin: Hebrew, Arabic
- Meaning: Peaceful
- Pronunciation: SAY-lahm
- Namesakes: Salem Mitchell, an American model signed to LA Ford Models and New York Model Management.
- Popularity: Salem ranked 436th in the U.S. in 2025, close to its 2023 peak of 417th.
Salima
Salima is the feminine form of Salim, from the Arabic root salima, meaning to be safe or sound. It has a formal, unhurried elegance, and the stress on the middle syllable keeps it from sounding stiff. American parents have barely touched it, so a Salima will almost certainly be the only one in her class. Salma and Selima offer shorter routes to the same root.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Safe, sound
- Pronunciation: sa-LEE-mah
- Variations: Salama, Salma, Selima
- Namesakes: Salima Sultan Begum, the third wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Akbar.
- Popularity: Salima ranked 6,785th in the U.S. in 2025 and has never reached the top 1,000. Its best year was 1976, at #3,503.
Sally
Sally began as a pet form of Sarah and spent most of the twentieth century as a standard-issue American girl’s name. It has fallen a long way from its 1939 high, which is precisely what makes it interesting again: a Sally born today will be the youngest one anybody knows. The name is friendly, unpretentious, and impossible to mispronounce.
- Origin: Hebrew, English
- Meaning: Lady, princess
- Pronunciation: SAL-ee
- Variations: Sallie
- Namesakes: Sally Margaret Field, a prominent American actress who won two Academy Awards and three Primetime Emmy Awards, among others.
- Popularity: Sally peaked at 52nd in the U.S. in 1939 and had fallen to #1,158 by 2025.
Sam
Sam is the short form of Samantha, Samuel, Samson, or anything else that starts the same way, and it has been standing on its own for a very long time. Three letters, one syllable, zero fuss. It reads as boyish to most American ears, which is exactly why it lands well on a girl who does not care much for other people’s categories.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Name of God
- Pronunciation: SAM
- Popularity: Sam ranked 647th in the U.S. in 2025, far below its 1913 high of 65th.
Samali
Samali is a Sanskrit name meaning bouquet, or a small gathering of sweet-smelling flowers. It is too rare for the federal birth data to list, so there is no rank to quote and no trend to follow. Four syllables give it a lilt that shorter S names do not have. For a spring baby, the imagery does most of the work.
- Origin: Sanskrit
- Meaning: Bouquet
- Pronunciation: SA-MAL-ee
Samantha
Samantha probably grew out of Samuel, with the Greek anthos, meaning flower, attached to the end. Bewitched made it a household name in the 1960s, and it went on to spend the 1990s near the very top, reaching third in 1998. It has cooled to 151st, which is the enviable position of familiar but no longer everywhere. Sam is the ready-made nickname, and Sammy covers the toddler years.
- Origin: English, Greek
- Meaning: Name of God, flower
- Pronunciation: sah-MAN-thah
- Variations: Samanta
- Namesakes: Samantha Jane Stosur, an Australian professional tennis player and the former world No. 1 in doubles.
- Popularity: Samantha ranked 151st in the U.S. in 2025, down from third place in 1998.
Samar
Samar comes from the Arabic samara, to talk in the evening, so the name means something close to conversation after dark. This mysterious name suits a baby born at night, or a family that does its best talking late. It is short, evenly stressed, and easy for English speakers to say on the first try.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Evening conversation
- Pronunciation: SA-mar
- Variations: Sameera, Samira
- Namesakes: Samar Minallah, a documentary filmmaker and human rights activist from Pakistan.
- Popularity: Samar ranked 2,329th in the U.S. in 2025, not far off its 2022 best of #1,790.
Samira
Samira is the feminine form of Samir, a masculine name meaning wind or air. It has been in U.S. records since 1961 and hit its highest rank yet in 2025, so its moment may be arriving rather than passing. The three syllables give it a graceful, unhurried sound. Mira works as a short form if you want one.
- Origin: Arabic, Persian
- Meaning: Wind
- Pronunciation: sa-MEE-rah
- Variations: Samar, Sameera
- Namesakes: Samira Said, a Moroccan singer known for her Egyptian Arabic genre of music.
- Popularity: Samira reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025, at #723.
Sansa
Sansa is a Sanskrit name meaning praise or charm, though nearly everyone will connect it to Sansa Stark from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. The character starts out naive and ends up one of the shrewdest people in the story, which is a decent arc to hand a daughter. The name only shows up in American records from 2013, so it is very much a modern pick.
- Origin: Sanskrit
- Meaning: Praise, charm
- Pronunciation: SAHN-suh
- Popularity: Sansa entered the U.S. data in 2013 and ranked 5,877th in 2025.
Saoirse
Saoirse means freedom, which is not a small thing to carry, and it is a genuinely modern Irish Gaelic name rather than an ancient one. Americans mostly know it through the actress Saoirse Ronan, who has spent years patiently teaching interviewers to say SEER-shah. That is the catch: the spelling and the sound do not shake hands. Parents who use it anyway tend to decide the meaning is worth the trouble.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Freedom
- Pronunciation: SEER-shah
- Namesakes: Saoirse Ronan, an American-born Irish actress known for her roles in Little Women (2019), Lady Bird (2017), and The Lovely Bones (2009).
- Popularity: Saoirse ranked 1,089th in the U.S. in 2025, down from its 2020 peak of 735th.
Sapphire
Sapphire is the deep blue gemstone and September’s birthstone, which makes it an obvious pick for an autumn baby. As a name it is bold and unapologetically decorative, in the same family as Ruby and Pearl but louder. It has hovered around the edge of the U.S. top 1,000 for a few years, so it is uncommon without being unheard of.
- Origin: English, Hebrew, Greek
- Meaning: Blue gemstone
- Pronunciation: SAF-ie-ahr
- Variations: Sapphira
- Popularity: Sapphire ranked 1,058th in the U.S. in 2025, just outside its 2022 best of #913.
Sara
Sara is Sarah with the h taken off, and that one change has given it a life of its own across Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. It reads a little more modern and a little less biblical without losing the meaning, lady or princess. Both spellings get two pronunciations in the U.S., SEHR-ah and SA-ra, so she will be correcting people either way. At 198th in 2025 it is comfortably familiar, and it has been for a century.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Lady, princess
- Pronunciation: SEHR-ah, SA-ra
- Variations: Sarah
- Namesakes: Sara Bareilles, an American singer-songwriter known for her hit single Love Song (2007).
- Popularity: Sara ranked 198th in the U.S. in 2025, down from 26th in 1981.
Sarai
In the Old Testament, Sarai is what Sarah was called before God changed her name, so the two are the same name at different points in one story. American use stayed thin until the late 1980s and then picked up sharply. It has held a spot in the 400s for years, which is steady rather than trendy.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: My princess
- Pronunciation: SEHR-ie
- Variations: Saray
- Namesakes: Sarai Gascón Moreno, a competitive swimmer from Catalonia, Spain.
- Popularity: Sarai ranked 425th in the U.S. in 2025, near its 2007 high of 398th.
Sasha
Sasha is the Russian and Ukrainian short form of Aleksandra, and of Aleksander, which is why it works on anyone. Beyonce borrowed it for Sasha Fierce, her stage alter ego, and that association still does much of the name’s work in the U.S. It peaked here in 1988 and has settled into the 600s, familiar but far from common. Parents get a full name’s warmth in two syllables with no shortening required.
- Origin: Russian, Ukrainian
- Meaning: Defending men
- Pronunciation: SASH-ah
- Variations: Sascha, Sascia, Sasja
- Popularity: Sasha ranked 684th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 1988 peak of 147th.
Saskia
Saskia comes from the Old German sahso, a reference to the Saxons, and it has a crispness most soft-sounding S names avoid. Two pronunciations travel with it, SAHS-kee-ah and the more Germanic ZAS-kya. American use is genuinely rare, sitting in the four thousands, so it stays an insider’s pick. Sass is the nickname waiting to happen, for better or worse.
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Saxon, knife
- Pronunciation: SAHS-kee-ah, ZAS-kya
- Variations: Sahsa, Saxa
- Namesakes: Saskia Sassen, a Dutch-American sociologist noted for her analyses of globalization and international human migration.
- Popularity: Saskia ranked 4,342nd in the U.S. in 2025, below its 2002 best of #3,586.
Savannah
Savannah works as landscape and as place: the wide grassland, and the Georgia city with the moss hanging off the trees. It only came into use as a given name in the 1800s, which makes it younger than it sounds. After peaking at 30th in 2006 it has eased to 135th, so it is popular in the way a name is when its moment has just passed. Sav, Savvy, and Anna are all sitting there as nicknames.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Large grassy plain
- Pronunciation: sah-VAN-ah
- Variations: Savanna, Zavanna
- Namesakes: Savannah Guthrie, an American broadcast journalist, and attorney.
- Popularity: Savannah ranked 135th in the U.S. in 2025, down from 30th in 2006.
Sawyer
Sawyer was a job before it was a surname, and a surname before Mark Twain handed it to Tom in 1876. It came to girls late, mostly after 2010, and has climbed fast enough since to sit at 122nd. The sound is outdoorsy and a bit rough at the edges, which is the whole appeal. It pairs well with a softer middle name if you want to balance it out.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Sawer of wood
- Pronunciation: SOI-ahr, SAW-yahr
- Popularity: Sawyer ranked 122nd in the U.S. in 2025, a little off its 2015 peak of 94th.
Saylor
Saylor is the word sailor with a modern respelling, though the older French sailleor meant acrobat or dancer. It is a recent arrival, only reaching the U.S. top 1,000 in 2013, and it has climbed steadily since. Coastal families use it for the obvious reason; everyone else uses it because it is bright and easy to say.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Sailor
- Pronunciation: SAY-lahr
- Popularity: Saylor ranked 217th in the U.S. in 2025, close to its 2022 peak of 207th.
Scarlett
Scarlett started as a word for rich red cloth, traced back through Old French to the Persian saghrelat. Margaret Mitchell put it in front of everyone in 1936 with Scarlett O’Hara, and the name has never really left since. It reached 14th in 2022 and still sits at 32nd, one of only four names here inside the current top 100. Two ts are standard now, with Scarlet and Scarlette as the alternatives.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Scarlet cloth
- Pronunciation: SKAHR-lit
- Variations: Scarlet, Scarlette
- Namesakes: Scarlett Johansson, an American actress known for her roles in Black Widow (2021), Under the Skin (2013), and Lucy (2014).
- Popularity: Scarlett ranked 32nd in the U.S. in 2025, down from 14th in 2022.
Scout
Scout is a cute name with a literary backbone: Harper Lee gave it to Atticus Finch’s daughter in To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960. It suggests someone who goes first and asks questions later, which is a fine thing to wish on a kid. The name sits right at the boundary of the U.S. top 1,000, so it is used but never common. One syllable, no nickname, nothing to spell out at the pharmacy.
- Origin: English, French
- Meaning: To listen
- Pronunciation: SKOWT
- Popularity: Scout ranked 997th in the U.S. in 2025, holding on to the edge of the top 1,000.
Sedona
Sedona is a place name first, borrowed from the Arizona town known for its red rock canyons and pine country. Nobody has settled on what the word itself means, which leaves the imagery to do the talking. Its best year on the charts is the most recent one, so interest is quietly building. For a family whose best memories happen outdoors, it is an easy story to tell her later.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Unknown
- Pronunciation: se-DOUGH-na
- Popularity: Sedona reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025, at #1,591.
Selene
Selene was the Greek goddess who drove the moon across the sky, and the name has kept every bit of that atmosphere. American use came and went through the twentieth century, but 2025 was its strongest year yet. It offers a quieter route to the same sound as Selena, with a softer ending.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Moon
- Pronunciation: SEH-LEH-NEH, si-LEE-nee
- Variations: Selena
- Popularity: Selene reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025, at #623.
Sen
Sen carries several meanings in Japanese, among them thousand, hermit, and sage, so parents can choose the reading that fits. In Vietnamese it points to the lotus. Three letters and one syllable make it about as portable as a name can be. It is almost unused in the U.S., which for some families is precisely the point.
- Origin: Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese
- Meaning: Enlightened person, lotus flower
- Pronunciation: SEHN
- Popularity: Sen has never approached the U.S. top 1,000. It last appeared in the data in 2024, at #13,910.
Sephora
Sephora is the Greek form of Zipporah, a Hebrew name from tzippor, meaning bird. The beauty chain is the association most Americans reach for first, and that is worth thinking about before you commit. Set it aside and you have a graceful biblical name with an unusual sound. Zipporah, Saphora, and Sephorah are all in the same nest.
- Origin: Greek, English, Hebrew
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: sah-FOR-ah
- Variations: Zipporah, Saphora, Saphorah, Seforah, Sephorah, Zaphorah
- Popularity: Sephora ranked 4,535th in the U.S. in 2025, below its 2014 best of #2,916.
September
September was the seventh month on the Roman calendar, which is why the name means seventh and the arithmetic no longer works. Parents mostly use it for babies born in it, though the sound stands up on its own. It is far rarer than the other calendar names, August, May, and April among them.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Seventh month
- Pronunciation: sehp-TEHM-bahr
- Popularity: September ranked 6,081st in the U.S. in 2025. It did best in 1963, at #1,975.
Sequoia
Sequoia is the giant tree of the California mountains, and the tree itself was named for Sequoyah, the Cherokee scholar who created the Cherokee writing system. That gives the name both scale and a real person behind it. It has been in U.S. records since the 1950s and sits near #2,000 today. For parents who want a nature name nobody else in the class will have, this is one of the biggest going.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Sequoia tree
- Pronunciation: sah-KWOI-ah
- Popularity: Sequoia ranked 1,987th in the U.S. in 2025, below its 2002 best of #1,147.
Seraphina
Seraphina comes from the seraphim, the six-winged angels of the Hebrew Bible, so the meaning is literally fiery ones. It is long, ornate, and unmistakably feminine, in the same register as Evangeline and Josephine. Its best rank came in 2025, so it is on the way up rather than the way out. Sera, Fina, and Fifi are the short forms, depending on how much drama you want.
- Origin: Latin, Hebrew
- Meaning: Fiery ones
- Pronunciation: sehr-ah-FEEN-ah
- Namesakes: Seraphina Sforza, an Italian noblewoman, and nun beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1754.
- Popularity: Seraphina reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025, at #600.
Seren
Seren is the Welsh word for star and a fairly modern coinage as a given name. It is short, bright, and shares the celestial mood of Stella and Selene without their Latin formality. American use remains slight, so it still has the feel of a name you found rather than one you were offered.
- Origin: Welsh, Turkish
- Meaning: Star
- Pronunciation: SEH-rehn
- Popularity: Seren ranked 3,207th in the U.S. in 2025 and has never reached the top 1,000.
Serenity
Serenity comes straight from the English word, and behind that the Latin serenus, meaning clear or calm. It joined the older virtue names, Hope, Faith, and Grace, and then comfortably outranked most of them. Since its 2013 peak it has drifted to 129th, which still puts it in daily circulation.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Serenity, tranquility
- Pronunciation: sah-REHN-ah-tee
- Popularity: Serenity ranked 129th in the U.S. in 2025, down from 52nd in 2013.
Sevyn
Sevyn is the number seven with a modern spelling, and number names are having a real moment thanks to characters like Eleven and Four. The vyn ending makes it look like an Old Welsh name, though it is an invention of the last twenty years. It has grown faster over the past decade than anything else on this list. Expect to spell it out, and expect people to like it once they see it written down.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Seven
- Pronunciation: SEHV-ahn
- Variations: Seven
- Popularity: Sevyn ranked 575th in the U.S. in 2025 and is the fastest riser on this list, up about 1,451 percent on the previous decade of births.
Shai
Shai is the Hebrew word for gift, and it doubles as a short form of Isaiah. It sounds exactly like the English word shy, which is either a small joke or a small worry depending on your child. One syllable, four letters, and nothing to argue about at the registration desk.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Gift
- Pronunciation: SHY
- Variations: Shay
- Popularity: Shai ranked 1,032nd in the U.S. in 2025, just below its 2023 best of #983.
Shakira
Shakira means thankful, from the Arabic root shakara, and it was an Arabic name long before it was a pop one. The singer’s peak years and the name’s peak years line up almost exactly, and both have passed. It is the steepest faller on this list, which means a girl named Shakira today gets the sound without the crowd. The meaning is a lovely thing to say out loud about a daughter.
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Thankful
- Pronunciation: SHA-kee-rah
- Namesakes: Shakira Ripoll, a Colombian singer and songwriter known as the “Queen of Latin Music.”
- Popularity: Shakira has fallen further than any other name here, down about 82 percent on the previous decade of births, and it ranked 8,792nd in 2025.
Shania
Shania rose and fell with Shania Twain, who took it as a stage name from an Ojibwe phrase meaning on my way. That makes it one of very few names here with a documented origin story from the last forty years. It is a sweet name with some country grit behind it. The nineties association is strong, though thirty years is usually long enough for a name to come back around.
- Origin: English, Ojibwe
- Meaning: On my way
- Pronunciation: shah-NIE-ah
- Variations: Shaniya
- Namesakes: Shania Twain, a Canadian singer, and songwriter who has sold over 100 million records.
- Popularity: Shania peaked at #171 in the U.S. in 1996 and had slipped to #2,535 by 2025.
Shannon
Shannon comes from Sionainn, granddaughter of the sea god Lir, who went to a forbidden well that burst open, drowned her, and became the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland. Not every name gets a myth that good. It was a top 20 name in the mid-1970s and has been out of fashion for a while now. Shan, Shana, and Shay all give it a lighter, more current sound.
- Origin: English, Irish
- Meaning: Old, ancient
- Pronunciation: SHAN-ahn
- Variations: Shannen, Shanon, Shannah
- Namesakes: Shannon Elizabeth Fadal, an American actress, conservationist, animal activist, and model.
- Popularity: Shannon reached 17th in the U.S. in 1976 and had fallen to #2,405 by 2025.
Sharon
Sharon is a Hebrew place name, the fertile plain, and for three decades it was everywhere in America. Its 1943 peak at eighth explains why you are far more likely to meet a Sharon at school pickup than in a stroller. Sharon Stone and Sharon Osbourne keep it from feeling entirely retired. Names tend to come back once their original owners are grandmothers, so this one may still be waiting its turn.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Plain
- Pronunciation: SHAR-ahn
- Variations: Sharron, Sharyn
- Namesakes: Sharon Stone, an American actress known for playing femme fatales in several films and TV shows.
- Popularity: Sharon reached eighth in the U.S. in 1943 and ranked 1,256th in 2025.
Shavon
Shavon is an Anglicized spelling of Siobhan, the Irish form of Jean, though it may also be sha attached to the vintage Yvonne. Either way it means God is gracious without looking like a typical biblical name such as Mary or Sarah. It had a real run in the late 1970s and has been quiet ever since. The sound, shah-VAHN, is smoother than the spelling suggests.
- Origin: English, Irish, Hebrew
- Meaning: God is gracious
- Pronunciation: shah-VAHN
- Variations: Shavonne, Chevonne, Jane, Jean, Shevaun, Shevon
- Popularity: Shavon’s best year was 1979, at #531, and it last appeared in U.S. birth data in 2019.
Shayna
Shayna comes from the Yiddish shein, meaning beautiful, and from the phrase a shayne maydel, a lovely girl. It is a term of endearment that turned into a name, which is a warm place to start. American use peaked in the early nineties and has faded since. Shaina and Shana are the usual alternate spellings.
- Origin: Yiddish
- Meaning: Beautiful
- Pronunciation: SHAY-nah
- Variations: Shaina, Shana, Shaynah
- Namesakes: Shayna Baszler, an American professional wrestler, kickboxer, and former mixed martial artist.
- Popularity: Shayna ranked 2,479th in the U.S. in 2025, down from its 1991 peak of 381st.
Shea
Shea is the Anglicized form of Seaghdha, an Old Irish name from segda, meaning fine, good, or learned. It splits fairly evenly between boys and girls in the U.S., with a recent tilt toward girls. Four letters, one syllable, and it works as a first name or a middle. Short names are doing well right now, and this one has been ready the whole time.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Fine, good
- Pronunciation: SHAY
- Variations: Shay
- Namesakes: Shea Sydney Ralph, a former collegiate basketball player and current head coach for the Vanderbilt Commodores women’s basketball team.
- Popularity: Shea ranked 1,159th in the U.S. in 2025, below its 1997 best of #698.
Shelby
Shelby was a surname, then a boys’ name in the 1800s, then a girls’ name after the 1935 film The Woman in Red. Julia Roberts playing Shelby in Steel Magnolias in 1989 set up the peak that followed two years later. It has cooled a long way since, which puts it in the pleasant zone where everyone knows it and nobody is using it. The meaning, willow farm, is gentler than the sound.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Willow farm
- Pronunciation: SHEHL-bee
- Namesakes: Shelby Young, an American actress known for her roles in American Horror Story, Days of Our Lives, and The Social Network.
- Popularity: Shelby peaked at 33rd in the U.S. in 1991 and had eased to 649th by 2025.
Sherese
Sherese sits in the French-flavored family of Cherise and Therese, with meanings that run from charity to cherry. It had a small window in the 1970s and has essentially vanished from birth records since, which makes it a genuine rarity rather than a fashionable one. Reese is the obvious modern nickname, and it does a lot to bring the whole name forward.
- Origin: Latin, French
- Meaning: Charity, cherry
- Pronunciation: SHER-eez
- Popularity: Sherese has never come near the U.S. top 1,000. Its best year was 1973, at #2,006, and it last appeared in the data in 2004.
Sheridan
Sheridan is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname O Sirideain, which traces back to the given name Siridean, meaning searcher. Surnames as first names are standard now, and this one has more music in it than most. It has drifted a long way down the charts since 2001, so it is quietly available. Sherry is the built-in nickname if the full name feels formal on a toddler.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Searcher
- Pronunciation: SHEHR-i-dahn
- Namesakes: Sheridan Smith, an English actress known for her roles in the sitcoms The Royle Family, Gavin & Stacey, and Benidorm.
- Popularity: Sheridan ranked 5,375th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 2001 best of #780.
Shiloh
Shiloh is a biblical place name that reads as calm, which fits its meaning, tranquil. It has climbed steadily since 2007 and now sits just off its 2024 peak of 260th. This 5-letter name is simple to spell and gender-neutral without sounding invented. It suits parents who want something spiritual that does not announce itself.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Tranquil
- Pronunciation: SHIE-lo
- Popularity: Shiloh ranked 281st in the U.S. in 2025, close to its 2024 peak of 260th.
Shirley
Shirley means bright clearing, and for one decade it was one of the biggest names in the country, reaching second in 1935 on the back of Shirley Temple’s fame. It has not joined the vintage revival that lifted Stella and Sadie, so it still sounds like a grandmother rather than a baby. That also means it is wide open. Shirl and Lee are the short forms.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Bright clearing
- Pronunciation: SHUR-lee
- Variations: Shirlee, Sherley
- Namesakes: Shirley MacLaine, an American actress known for her roles in The Trouble with Harry, Around the World in 80 Days, and Some Came Running.
- Popularity: Shirley reached second in the U.S. in 1935 and ranked 1,586th in 2025.
Shoshana
Shoshana is the modern Hebrew form of Susanna, and it means lily. In the Apocrypha, Susanna is falsely accused of adultery and cleared by the prophet Daniel, which gives the name a spine as well as a flower. It is rare in the U.S. today, and it sounds considerably fresher than the name it comes from. Shosh and Shani do the daily work.
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Lily
- Pronunciation: show-SHA-nah
- Variations: Susanna
- Namesakes: Shoshana Damari, a Yemeni-Israeli singer known as the “Queen of Hebrew Music.”
- Popularity: Shoshana ranked 1,682nd in the U.S. in 2025, below its 1984 best of #1,230.
Shreya
Shreya means superior or best in Sanskrit, and it is another name for Lakshmi, the goddess associated with beauty and good fortune. It had a small American peak in 2003 and has settled well below it since. Two syllables, one confident sound, nothing to shorten.
- Origin: Sanskrit
- Meaning: Superior, best
- Pronunciation: SHRAY-ah
- Namesakes: Shreya Ghoshal, an Indian singer and television personality.
- Popularity: Shreya peaked at #786 in the U.S. in 2003 and ranked 2,772nd in 2025.
Sia
Sia is a super badass name in three letters, carried by the Australian singer Sia Furler and, much further back, by an ancient Egyptian god associated with perception and knowledge. The Scandinavian reading gives it the meaning victory. Its best rank came in 2025, so the name is at its high point right now.
- Origin: Swedish, Old Norse
- Meaning: Victory
- Pronunciation: SEE-uh
- Namesakes: Sia Furler, an Australian singer and songwriter known for her hit songs Chandelier, Cheap Thrills, and Elastic Heart.
- Popularity: Sia reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025, at #1,107.
Sibyl
The sibyls were the female prophets of Greek and Roman legend, credited with knowing what had not happened yet. That makes Sibyl one of the more interesting mystical girl names beginning with S. It was an ordinary American name a century ago and has been out of use so long that it is due. Sybil is the more familiar spelling, though this one sits closer to the Greek.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Prophetess
- Pronunciation: SIB-ahl
- Variations: Sybil, Cybill, Sybella
- Namesakes: Dame Sybil Thorndike, an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969.
- Popularity: Sibyl ranked 5,537th in the U.S. in 2025, far below its 1919 peak of 376th.
Sierra
Sierra is the Spanish word for a mountain range, and American parents mostly hear the Sierra Nevada in it. It was a top 50 name at the end of the nineties, which dates it a little, though the sound has aged better than most of that cohort. Ciara, Ciera, and Cierra are near neighbors with different roots. For a family that spends its holidays at altitude, it is hard to beat.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Mountain range
- Pronunciation: see-EHR-ah
- Variations: Ciara, Ciera, Cierra, Ceara, Cearra
- Namesakes: Sierra McCormick, an American actress best known for her role as Lilith on the TV show Supernatural.
- Popularity: Sierra peaked at 49th in the U.S. in 1999 and ranked 616th in 2025.
Sigourney
Literary readers know Sigourney from Mrs. Sigourney Howard, a minor character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and everyone else knows it from the actress Sigourney Weaver. It is the rarest of the names the federal data still ranks, at #16,931 in 2025, turning up in roughly one in 333,333 American births. The meaning has never been pinned down, which somehow suits it. Sig and Siggy are the short forms, and both are better than they sound.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Uncertain
- Pronunciation: si-GAWR-nee
- Variations: Sigournay
- Namesakes: Sigourney Weaver, an American actress known for her roles in Alien, Ghostbusters, and Avatar.
- Popularity: Sigourney is the rarest of the names the federal data still ranks, at #16,931 in 2025, or roughly one in every 333,333 U.S. births.
Sigrid
Sigrid is built from the Old Norse elements sigr, victory, and frior, beautiful, and it has been a Scandinavian standard for centuries. In America it belongs to the 1910s, when it last came near the top 1,000. The hard g gives it a directness that most feminine S names avoid. For a family with Norse roots, it is an obvious pick that almost nobody else is making.
- Origin: Old Norse
- Meaning: Beautiful victory
- Pronunciation: SEE-grid
- Variations: Sigríðr
- Namesakes: Sigrid Undset, a Norwegian-Danish novelist awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.
- Popularity: Sigrid ranked 4,445th in the U.S. in 2025. Its best year was 1915, at #967.
Silvia
Silvia is an ancient Roman name, borne by the mother of Romulus and Remus, and it means wood or forest. Shakespeare brought it into English with a character in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. The i spelling stays closer to the Latin, while the y spelling is more common in America. Either way it is soft, classical, and a little bit out of the woods.
- Origin: Roman, Latin
- Meaning: Wood, forest
- Pronunciation: SIL-vee-ah
- Variations: Sylvia
- Namesakes: Sylvia Plath, an American poet, novelist, and short story writer known for her novel The Bell Jar.
- Popularity: Silvia ranked 1,240th in the U.S. in 2025, down from its 1974 best of #494.
Simone
Simone is the French feminine form of Simon, a Greek name from the Hebrew Shim’on, meaning he has heard. This European name had its American moment in the 1980s and has been quietly slipping since, holding the edge of the top 1,000 in 2025. It is composed and slightly formal, which is exactly why it works on a grown woman.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: He has heard
- Pronunciation: sah-MON, SEE-MAWN
- Variations: Simonne, Cymone
- Namesakes: Simone de Beauvoir, a French existentialist philosopher and feminist activist.
- Popularity: Simone ranked 998th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 1988 peak of 311th.
Sinclair
Sinclair began as a Scottish surname taken from the Norman French town of Saint Clair. It has been used more for men, the author Sinclair Lewis among them, but the Clair inside it makes the name read comfortably feminine. It is rare in American records, hovering in the four thousands, and it has never had a fashionable spell to date it.
- Origin: Scottish, French
- Meaning: Saint Clair
- Pronunciation: sin-KLEHR
- Popularity: Sinclair ranked 4,740th in the U.S. in 2025, close to its 1994 best of #4,671.
Sinead
Sinead is the Anglicized spelling of the Irish Sinéad, which shares a root with John and so carries the meaning God is gracious. Its American peak came in 1990, and it has been rare here ever since. Say it SHIN-aid, and accept that the accented version will spend its life being retyped.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: God is gracious
- Pronunciation: SHIN-aid
- Variations: Sinéad
- Namesakes: Sinéad O’Connor, an Irish singer-songwriter known for her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra.
- Popularity: Sinead ranked 9,378th in the U.S. in 2025, far below its 1990 best of #1,099.
Sini
Sini comes from the Finnish word for blue, the poetic kind rather than the everyday one. It is short, bright, and easy for English speakers, though it is too rare for the U.S. birth data to record at all. Sinikka is the longer form if you want more to work with. For a blue-eyed baby, or one born under a big sky, the imagery is right there.
- Origin: Finnish
- Meaning: Blue
- Pronunciation: SEE-nee
- Variations: Sinikka
- Namesakes: Sini Latvala, a retired female hammer thrower from Finland.
Skye
Skye is the word sky with an e, and it is also the rugged Scottish island off the west coast. That gives a very light name something solid underneath it. It does well in the middle spot, where plenty of parents put it, and it holds up fine on its own.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Isle of Skye
- Pronunciation: SKIE
- Variations: Sky
- Namesakes: Skye Sweetnam, a Canadian singer and actress who first entered the music industry in 2003 with the release of her single, Billy S.
- Popularity: Skye ranked 532nd in the U.S. in 2025, below its 2014 peak of 368th.
Skylar
Skylar was a boys’ name in the 1980s and turned female after a character on The Young and the Restless in 1989. It peaked at 42nd in 2015 and has been easing back since, which means plenty of Skylars are in high school right now. The name has a nineties edge and a nature association to soften it. Skyler is the other common spelling, so expect the question every time.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Scholar
- Pronunciation: SKIE-lahr
- Variations: Skyler
- Namesakes: Skylar Grey, an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-wrote Eminem and Rihanna’s hit single, Love the Way You Lie.
- Popularity: Skylar ranked 167th in the U.S. in 2025, down from 42nd in 2015.
Sloane
Sloane comes from the Irish surname O Sluaghadhain and means something close to raider, which is a lot of attitude for a name this polished. In Britain a Sloane Ranger is a certain kind of well-dressed, well-connected person, and the name has picked up some of that gloss. It sits one place off its 2022 peak, so it is popular and stable rather than climbing. Sloan without the e is the tidier option.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Raid
- Pronunciation: SLON
- Variations: Sloan
- Popularity: Sloane ranked 141st in the U.S. in 2025, one place off its 2022 peak.
Socorro
Socorro means help or relief, and it comes from the Spanish Marian title Maria del Socorro, Mary of Perpetual Succor. Catholic families have used it for generations to honor the Virgin Mary. American use peaked back in 1929 and is very thin indeed today. Coco is the nickname that makes it feel current.
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Help, relief
- Pronunciation: so-KO-ro
- Namesakes: Socorro Avelar, a Mexican actress featured in the film El Tejedor de Milagros.
- Popularity: Socorro ranked 10,805th in the U.S. in 2025. Its best year was 1929, at #539.
Solace
Solace is a word name, the comfort that arrives in the middle of something hard. It is rarely used, which keeps it from sounding like a slogan. For parents whose road to a baby was long, the meaning says the thing without a speech.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Solace
- Pronunciation: SAHL-ahs
- Popularity: Solace ranked 10,807th in the U.S. in 2025, below its 2015 best of #7,569.
Solange
Solange is the French form of the Latin Sollemnia, and it means religious in the ceremonial sense. This elegant name belongs in American ears to Solange Knowles, Beyonce’s sister and the voice behind Cranes in the Sky. The French pronunciation, suh-LAANJ, is the fun part and the hard part. It is unusual here without being unheard of.
- Origin: French, Latin
- Meaning: Religious
- Pronunciation: suh-LAANJ
- Namesakes: Solange Knowles, an American singer, songwriter, and actress.
- Popularity: Solange ranked 4,344th in the U.S. in 2025, below its 2011 best of #1,645.
Soleil
Soleil is the French word for sun, and it is exactly as warm as that suggests. It is new to the American charts in any real numbers, and 2025 was its strongest year yet. The pronunciation, SAW-LAY, is worth practicing before the birth announcement goes out. It gives you a sunny meaning without reaching for Sunny or Sunshine.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Sun
- Pronunciation: SAW-LAY
- Variations: Sole
- Namesakes: Soleil Moon Frye, an American actress, and director who played Roxie King in the TV series Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
- Popularity: Soleil reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025, at #758.
Sophia
Sophia is the Greek word for wisdom, and it was a noun long before it was a name. It reached first place in the U.S. in 2011 and has barely moved since, ranking fifth in 2025, higher than anything else here. That popularity is the only real drawback, because she will not be the only Sophia she knows. Sofia and Sophie are the two doors out, and both are good ones.
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Wisdom
- Pronunciation: so-FEE-ah
- Variations: Sofia, Sophie
- Namesakes: Sofia Coppola, an American screenwriter and Academy Award winner for writing Lost in Translation.
- Popularity: Sophia ranked fifth in the U.S. in 2025, the highest of any name on this list, after holding the number one spot in 2011.
Sorcha
Sorcha means radiant or bright and has been in use in Ireland since the late Middle Ages. It is far less familiar to Americans than Saoirse or Siobhan, and it comes with the same homework: SUR-kah or SAWR-khah, depending who you ask. That keeps it genuinely rare here. The meaning makes a lovely thing to tell a daughter about her own name.
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Radiant, bright
- Pronunciation: SUR-kah, SAWR-khah
- Namesakes: Sorcha Cusack, an Irish television and stage actress featured in Jane Eyre, Casualty, Coronation Street, and Father Brown.
- Popularity: Sorcha ranked 13,015th in the U.S. in 2025 and has never been close to the top 1,000.
Sorrel
Sorrel is the sharp, lemony garden plant, and the name comes from the Old French sur, meaning sour. Plant names are everywhere right now, Sage and Ivy and Juniper among them, and this one has not been picked over. Barely a handful of American babies get it in a year, which is about as unused as a real word name gets.
- Origin: French, Frankish
- Meaning: Sour
- Pronunciation: SAWR-ahl
- Namesakes: Sorrel Carson, an Irish actress, director, and teacher who formed the Academy of Live and Recorded Art in London in 1979.
- Popularity: Sorrel ranked 10,021st in the U.S. in 2025, close to its 1973 best of #9,596.
Sparrow
Sparrow comes from the Old English spearwa, the small brown bird that turns up absolutely everywhere and gets on with it. As a name it is light and a little folky, part of the same wave as Wren and Lark. American use is low and has eased since its 2017 peak. It suits a baby who arrives small and turns out tougher than expected.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Bird
- Pronunciation: SPEHR-oh
- Popularity: Sparrow ranked 4,157th in the U.S. in 2025, below its 2017 best of #2,180.
Spirit
Spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, which meant breath long before it meant anything grander. It is a bold, uncomplicated word name, closer to Serenity and Solace than to anything traditional. For parents who want the meaning stated outright, there is no ambiguity here at all.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Spirit
- Pronunciation: SPIR-it
- Variations: Sprita
- Popularity: Spirit ranked 5,215th in the U.S. in 2025, below its 2003 best of #2,766.
Spring
Spring is the season, and behind it the Old English springan, meaning to leap or burst forth, which describes both the season and a newborn rather well. It had a small run in the 1970s alongside the other nature picks. Today it is barely used, so it reads as fresh rather than dated. Summer is the sister name that made it big; this one is still waiting its turn.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: To leap
- Pronunciation: SPRING
- Popularity: Spring peaked at #623 in the U.S. in 1976 and ranked 6,795th in 2025.
Stacy
Stacy is a unisex name that was everywhere for American men and women through the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Its meaning, resurrection, arrives by way of Anastasia and Eustace. Music fans will hear the early 2000s pop-punk song before anything else. It is thoroughly out of fashion right now, which is usually the last stop before a name comes back.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Resurrection
- Pronunciation: STAY-see
- Variations: Stacey, Staci, Stacia, Stacie, Stacee
- Namesakes: Stacy Ann-Marie Keibler, an American retired professional wrestler known for her work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
- Popularity: Stacy peaked at 32nd in the U.S. in 1971 and ranked 1,665th in 2025.
Starling
Starling is a name for nature lovers with a star hiding at the front of it. The bird is loud and sociable, able to mimic human speech and most other sounds it hears. The name is close to unused in the U.S., which leaves it wide open. Star and Ling are both hiding inside it if she ever wants something shorter.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Star
- Pronunciation: STAHR-ling
- Popularity: Starling ranked 11,806th in the U.S. in 2025. Its best year was 1930, at #4,500.
Starr
Starr is Star with an extra r, which gives a one-syllable word name a bit more presence. It sits with the celestial and hippie picks, names like Moon, Rainbow, and Sunshine. Its best American year was 1948, and it has been drifting gently since. The plain Star spelling is the alternative, though the double r has more character.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Star
- Pronunciation: STAHR
- Variations: Star
- Popularity: Starr ranked 2,747th in the U.S. in 2025, well below its 1948 best of #651.
Stella
Stella means star in Latin, and the 16th-century poet Sir Philip Sidney used it for the woman in his sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella. It was popular in the early 1900s, nearly disappeared by 1995, and has come back roughly thirty-six times over since, the largest revival of any name here. It ranked 52nd in 2025, in the same celestial company as Luna and Nova. Four decades ago it was a great-grandmother’s name; now it belongs to toddlers.
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Star
- Pronunciation: STEHL-ah
- Namesakes: Stella McCartney, an English fashion designer and daughter of British singer-songwriter Paul McCartney.
- Popularity: Stella ranked 52nd in the U.S. in 2025 and is the biggest revival on this list, back about 36 times over from its 1995 low.
Stephanie
Stephanie is the feminine form of Stephen, from the Greek stephanos, meaning crown or wreath. It was a top ten name in the mid-1980s and stayed enormous through the nineties before dropping off sharply. At 557th it now has that specific quality of a name everyone knows and nobody is choosing. Steph is the nickname it has always had, and it still works.
- Origin: English, German, Greek
- Meaning: Crown
- Pronunciation: STEHF-ah-nee
- Variations: Stefani, Stephani, Stephania, Stephany, Stefanie
- Namesakes: Stephanie McMahon Levesque, an American businesswoman, and retired professional wrestler.
- Popularity: Stephanie reached sixth in the U.S. in 1984 and ranked 557th in 2025.
Stevie
Stevie belongs to Stevie Nicks in most people’s minds, which is a fine inheritance for any girl. It has climbed steadily since 2015 and hit its highest rank yet in 2025. Nickname names, the ones that never bother with a long form, are doing well right now. It is casual, a little rock and roll, and it never sounds like it is trying.
- Origin: English, Greek
- Meaning: Crown
- Pronunciation: STEE-vee
- Namesakes: Stevie Nicks, an American singer-songwriter and lead singer of Fleetwood Mac.
- Popularity: Stevie reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025, at #203.
Stormi
Stormi went from rare to recognizable in 2018, when Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott used it for their daughter. The i ending gives it a modern finish that the older Stormy spelling lacks. It reached 790th in 2024 and has eased only slightly since, so its moment is happening right now.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Stormy, wild
- Pronunciation: STAWR-mee
- Variations: Stormy
- Popularity: Stormi ranked 910th in the U.S. in 2025, below its 2024 peak of 790th.
Story
Story is a word name for the obvious reason: your daughter is starting one. It has never reached the U.S. top 1,000, which keeps it in genuinely original territory, though it has crept upward in the last few years. Nothing to spell out, nothing to explain, and no nickname required.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: History
- Pronunciation: STOR-ee
- Variations: Storie
- Popularity: Story ranked 1,831st in the U.S. in 2025, just below its 2024 best of #1,589.
Suki
Suki started life as an English short form of Susanna, and it is also a Japanese name meaning liked or beloved. Two languages, two histories, one very short name. It is at its American high point right now, and that high point is still #3,127, so it remains rare. Sookie and Sukie are the alternate spellings.
- Origin: English, Japanese
- Meaning: Lily, beloved
- Pronunciation: SOO-kee
- Variations: Sookie, Sukie
- Namesakes: Suki Schorer, an American ballet dancer who danced with George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet from 1959 to 1972.
- Popularity: Suki reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025, at #3,127.
Summer
Summer has been in steady American use since the 1970s and has never really gone away, sitting at 152nd in 2025. It is the warmest of the season names, and it has held the low 100s to 150s for decades. The word carries its own associations, long days and no schedule, so the name does not have to explain itself. It also works on a baby born in February, which is not true of every season name.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Summer
- Pronunciation: SUM-ahr
- Namesakes: Summer Glau, an American actress best known for her role as River Tam in Firefly (2002).
- Popularity: Summer ranked 152nd in the U.S. in 2025, a little below its 1977 peak of 119th.
Sunday
Sunday comes from the Old English sunnandaeg, built from sunne, sun, and daeg, day. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban chose it for their daughter in 2008, which is when most Americans first considered it as a name rather than a day. It has just reached its best rank, so it is arriving rather than fading. Day names are rare enough that this one still surprises people.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Sunday
- Pronunciation: SUN-day
- Popularity: Sunday reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025, at #947.
Sunita
Sunita joins the Sanskrit su, good, with nita, conducted or led, so it describes someone well brought up. Hindu legend gives it a complicated character, the daughter of Lord Yama, though the name itself has stayed positive in use. It is barely present in American birth records. The sound, SUE-nee-tah, is easy for English speakers, which is not true of every Sanskrit name.
- Origin: Sanskrit
- Meaning: Wise, well-conducted
- Pronunciation: SUE-nee-tah
- Variations: Sunitha
- Namesakes: Sunita Lyn Williams, an American astronaut who formerly held the record for most spacewalks by a woman.
- Popularity: Sunita has never neared the U.S. top 1,000. Its best year was 1983, at #3,055, and it last appeared in the data in 2023.
Sunshine
Sunshine is a word name with nowhere to hide, which is either its best feature or its riskiest one. It peaked in 1975 among the other optimistic seventies picks like Dawn and Amber. A handful of performers carry it, including the R&B singer Sunshine Anderson and the Filipino actresses Dizon and Cruz. Sunny is the nickname that will do most of the daily work.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Sunshine
- Pronunciation: SUN-shien
- Namesakes: Sunshine Anderson, an American R&B, soul singer, and songwriter.
- Popularity: Sunshine peaked at #534 in the U.S. in 1975 and ranked 2,952nd in 2025.
Sutton
Sutton named several English towns before it was anybody’s surname, and it means south town. It has climbed since 2013 and reached its highest rank yet in 2025. The sound is crisp and slightly preppy, in the same family as Sloane. It works on a toddler and on a job application, which is the test every surname name has to pass.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: South town
- Pronunciation: SUT-ahn
- Namesakes: Sutton Foster, an American Broadway actress who has won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice.
- Popularity: Sutton reached its best U.S. rank ever in 2025, at #181.
Suzanne
Suzanne is the French form of Susanna, and behind that the Hebrew shoshan, meaning lily. It was a mid-century American standard and has been quiet for decades. This lovely flower name currently reads as a mother’s or a grandmother’s rather than a baby’s. Suzy and Zanne are the two directions you can take it.
- Origin: French, Hebrew
- Meaning: Lily
- Pronunciation: soo-ZAN
- Variations: Susanna
- Namesakes: Suzanne Collins, an American author known for her book series The Underland Chronicles and The Hunger Games
- Popularity: Suzanne peaked at 52nd in the U.S. in 1946 and ranked 2,407th in 2025.
Suzette
Suzette is the French diminutive of Susanna, and the ette ending gives it a lightness its longer relatives lack. It had a good run through the 1960s and has been rare ever since. It is a legitimate old French name that sounds like a nickname, which is much of its charm. For parents who love Suzanne but want more spring in it, this is the answer.
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Lily
- Pronunciation: SUY-ZEHT
- Namesakes: Suzette Kimball, an American geologist and environmental scientist.
- Popularity: Suzette ranked 4,743rd in the U.S. in 2025, far below its 1967 peak of 342nd.
Sydney
Sydney points to the harbor city in Australia, though the name itself is Old English, from sid, wide, and eg, island. It was a top 25 name in 1999 and has settled to 348th, which makes it recognizable without being of the moment. It has leaned female in the U.S. since the 1980s. It is a beautiful name for a girl you expect will travel.
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Wide island
- Pronunciation: SID-nee
- Variations: Sidney
- Namesakes: Sydney Sweeney, an American actress known for her roles in The Handmaid’s Tale, Sharp Objects, and Euphoria.
- Popularity: Sydney peaked at 23rd in the U.S. in 1999 and ranked 348th in 2025.
