| Sana | Farah | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Radiance, brilliance, splendor | Joy, happiness |
| Origin | arabic | Arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | sah-NAH | FAH-rah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1923 | 1960 |
| Peak year | 2022 (180) | 2012 (178) |
| In 2025 | 151 | 164 |
| Trend | Rising | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Sana | Farah |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 860 | 973 |
| 2010s | 1,222 | 1,580 |
| 2000s | 1,186 | 1,185 |
| 1990s | 888 | 863 |
| 1980s | 478 | 818 |
| 1970s | 142 | 710 |
| 1960s | 43 | 149 |
| 1950s | 39 | 0 |
| 1940s | 5 | 0 |
| 1920s | 10 | 0 |
Sana (سناء, sana') derives from the root s-n-w/s-n-y and means 'radiance, brilliance, splendour'. It should be distinguished from the unrelated Arabic word sana ('year') and from Sana'a, the Yemeni capital.
Farah means “joy” or “happiness” in Arabic.
Farah is more popular than Sana today: about 164 US babies were given the name Farah in 2025, compared with 151 named Sana.
Sana means Radiance, brilliance, splendor (arabic origin), while Farah means Joy, happiness (Arabic origin).
In US records, Sana first appears in 1923 and Farah in 1960, so Sana has the longer recorded history.