| Sarah | Isabella | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Princess | Pledged to God |
| Origin | Hebrew | Hebrew |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | SAIR-uh | iz-uh-BEL-uh |
| Syllables | 2 | 4 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1982 (28,483) | 2010 (22,936) |
| In 2025 | 2,710 | 10,666 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Sarah | Isabella |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 16,944 | 67,643 |
| 2010s | 46,657 | 170,605 |
| 2000s | 124,545 | 149,571 |
| 1990s | 224,423 | 18,762 |
| 1980s | 272,637 | 567 |
| 1970s | 118,823 | 296 |
| 1960s | 43,913 | 429 |
| 1950s | 39,966 | 590 |
| 1940s | 39,977 | 774 |
| 1930s | 36,513 | 1,079 |
| 1920s | 46,769 | 2,095 |
| 1910s | 38,120 | 2,046 |
| 1900s | 17,342 | 1,038 |
| 1890s | 17,154 | 903 |
| 1880s | 14,715 | 603 |
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.
Isabella is a Latinate form of Elizabeth, from the Hebrew Elisheva, “God is my oath” — one pledged or devoted to God.
Isabella is more popular than Sarah today: about 10,666 US babies were given the name Isabella in 2025, compared with 2,710 named Sarah.
Sarah means Princess (Hebrew origin), while Isabella means Pledged to God (Hebrew origin).
In US records, Sarah first appears in 1880 and Isabella in 1880, so Sarah has the longer recorded history.