| Amy | Sarah | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | — | Princess |
| Origin | — | Hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | — | SAIR-uh |
| Syllables | — | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1975 (32,254) | 1982 (28,483) |
| In 2025 | 1,200 | 2,710 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Amy | Sarah |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 8,362 | 16,944 |
| 2010s | 19,765 | 46,657 |
| 2000s | 28,760 | 124,545 |
| 1990s | 51,167 | 224,423 |
| 1980s | 150,662 | 272,637 |
| 1970s | 268,994 | 118,823 |
| 1960s | 116,775 | 43,913 |
| 1950s | 30,583 | 39,966 |
| 1940s | 5,328 | 39,977 |
| 1930s | 3,402 | 36,513 |
| 1920s | 5,264 | 46,769 |
| 1910s | 4,824 | 38,120 |
| 1900s | 2,576 | 17,342 |
| 1890s | 3,042 | 17,154 |
| 1880s | 2,127 | 14,715 |
Amy comes from the Old French Amée, “beloved,” from Latin amata. A warm, well-loved name, it is fixed in literature as Amy March of Little Women.
Sarah is Hebrew for “princess” or “noblewoman.” In the Bible she is the wife of Abraham and a matriarch of Israel, renamed by God from Sarai.
Sarah is more popular than Amy today: about 2,710 US babies were given the name Sarah in 2025, compared with 1,200 named Amy.
In US records, Amy first appears in 1880 and Sarah in 1880, so Amy has the longer recorded history.