Sabas
Masculine
Sabas is a Greek and Spanish name belonging to a monk who founded a monastery in a desert gorge. The building is still there, in the same gorge, and has been continuously inhabited for fifteen hundred years.
How old is the name Sabas?
Sabas first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Sabas alive today was born around 1973, making them about 52 years old. About 500 people named Sabas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sabas most popular?
Sabas peaked in 1930, reaching #1753 nationally. See the whole 1930 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Sabas
Mar Saba sits on the side of the Kidron valley between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, built in terraces against the cliff, and it was founded in the fifth century by a monk who began in a cave and attracted followers. It has been sacked, rebuilt, besieged and depopulated by plague, and it has never actually been abandoned; there is a reasonable claim that it is the oldest continuously inhabited monastery in the world. It still follows the old calendar, still refuses entry to women, has no electricity in most of the building, and the monks bury their dead in a cave. Whatever one thinks of any of that, the continuity is a fact.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The name is generally traced to an Aramaic word about an old man or an elder, and the derivation is not secure. Its spread is owed almost entirely to the monk.
Pronouncing Sabas
SAH-bahs
Two syllables with the stress in front. In Spanish both vowels are clear and the s at the end is crisp.
Nicknames for Sabas
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1912
- Most boys named
- 199613 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1753reached in 1930
- Change vs 2022
- 0.0%5 in 2024, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Sabas in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sabas in Spanish — same name
- Savvas in Greek — same name
Sabass among us
people named Sabas are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Sabas sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Two syllables and five letters: quick to write and easy to remember.
- It is entirely ordinary in Spanish-speaking and Greek communities and genuinely rare elsewhere.
- It is read correctly at first sight by most English speakers.
- It will be heard as Sabbath or Silas by people catching it once.
- Outside Spanish-speaking and Orthodox communities it will need explaining.
- The name's own meaning is not secure, so that question has a soft answer.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Sabas to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Sabas? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Sabas
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Sabass are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Sabas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sabas in 2025?
- Sabas is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Sabas with classmates?
- Sabas will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Steven#271 · Stephen#383 · Samuel#18 · Scott#534 · Sean#489 · Shawn#681 · Stanley#863 · Steve#1609
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sabas? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sabas and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle