Sagar
Masculine · “the ocean”
Sagar is the Sanskrit word for the ocean, and the ocean is named after a king. In the story, sixty thousand princes dug the earth away looking for a stolen horse, made a vast pit, and were burned to ash for their rudeness — the pit filled with water when their descendant brought the Ganges down from heaven to purify them, and it has been called the sea of Sagara ever since.
How old is the name Sagar?
Sagar first appears in US birth records in 1975 — 50 years ago. The typical Sagar alive today was born around 1994, making them about 31 years old. About 1,000 people named Sagar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sagar most popular?
Sagar peaked in 1986, reaching #1457 nationally. See the whole 1986 chart.
Where it comes from
From a Sanskrit word for the ocean to Sagar
The story of Sagar
The descent of the Ganges is one of the great set pieces of Indian myth. The river had to be brought down from heaven to water the ashes of the sixty thousand, and its fall would have shattered the earth, so it was caught in the god Shiva's hair and let down slowly through his matted locks. That is why the river is sacred, why the descent is carved on temple walls all over India, and why the place where it meets the sea is a pilgrimage site. The word for the ocean and the story about the ocean arrive together, and neither can be read without the other.
Meaning
the ocean
The word is standard Sanskrit and Hindi for the sea, and it is used as a men's name across northern India and Nepal. The mythological explanation runs the other way from what you would expect: rather than the king being named after the sea, the sea is named after the king, whose sons dug it. Indian etymological tradition is full of this kind of reversal, and it is usually a sign that the story was written to explain the word.
How the name formed
- a Sanskrit word for the ocean
- a myth explains it as named after a king's sons
- the descent of the Ganges becomes a central story
- Sagar used as a men's name across northern India
- appears in American records from the 1970s
Related forms: Sagar · Sagar · Sagara
Pronouncing Sagar
SAH-gur
Two syllables, stress at the front, with a fuller first vowel than English gives it. American readers produce SAY-gar, which is close enough that nobody is misunderstood.
Nicknames for Sagar
Moderate
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
- 1975
- Most boys named
- 199358 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1457reached in 1986
- Change vs 2017
- 0.0%5 in 2020, 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.
Sagar in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sagar in Hindi — same name
- Sagar in Nepali — same name
- Sagara in Sanskrit — related form
Sagars among us
people named Sagar 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
Sagar 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
- The meaning is concrete, large and easy to explain to a child.
- Five letters, two syllables and no spelling difficulties.
- It carries a genuinely spectacular piece of mythology.
- The obvious English shortenings are both unfortunate.
- It will be heard as Sagan and Sugar by people meeting it once.
- It is rare in America and will need spelling out.
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Sagar
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Sagars are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Sagar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sagar in 2025?
- Sagar is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Sagar with classmates?
- Sagar 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 Sagar? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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