Sahib
Masculine · “companion”
Sahib is given to both — 798 boys and 61 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Sahib is an Arabic word for a companion that traveled east and became a title. In South Asia it turned into the word attached to a name as a mark of respect, and in Sikh usage it is attached to the scripture itself.
How old is the name Sahib?
Sahib first appears in US birth records in 1985 — 40 years ago. The typical Sahib is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 800 people named Sahib are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sahib most popular?
Sahib peaked in 2013, reaching #2804 nationally. Today it ranks #2941, 137 places below that high. See the whole 2013 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From sahib to Sahib
The story of Sahib
In Arabic the companions of Muhammad are the sahaba, from the same root, and the word carried respect from the beginning. Persian and then Urdu turned it into a title — the suffix placed after a name to show deference — and British India borrowed it wholesale, which is how the word entered English. In Sikh usage it marks reverence for what it follows: Guru Granth Sahib, Harmandir Sahib. As a given name it is used most in Punjabi Sikh families and reaches United States records from them.
Meaning
companion; master, lord
Arabic sahib means one who accompanies — a companion or an associate — from a root about keeping company. Persian and Urdu took it and shifted it toward owner, master and lord, which is how it became the honorific placed after a name. The reading is documented at both stages, and the drift from companion to master is well recorded.
How the name formed
- sahib
- Sahib
Related forms: Sahib · Sahib · Sahib · Sahip
Pronouncing Sahib
SAH-hib
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the h fully sounded between the vowels. English borrowed the word as SAH-ib or SAHB, dropping the h, which is how it is usually said in English sentences.
Nicknames for Sahib
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
- 1985
- Most boys named
- 201742 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2804reached in 2013
- Change vs 2024
- +23.5%42 in 2025, from 34
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.
Sahib in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sahib in Arabic — transliteration
- Sahib in Urdu — same name
- Sahib in Punjabi — same name
- Sahip in Turkish — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York.
Sahibs among us
people named Sahib are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 40,668 born in 2025 was named Sahib
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Perkins test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Sahib's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Perkins climbed just as high around 1921, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Perkins's path sketches the road Sahib is walking now.
Sahib sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Sahib is headed
Sahib should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Sahib beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sahib in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented meaning at two stages of a long journey, both of them good ones.
- Five letters, no silent ones, and readable at first sight in English.
- Recognized across Arabic, Urdu and Punjabi, and known as a word in English besides.
- It is a title of respect in South Asian use, which some families will find odd as a given name.
- The English borrowing carries colonial associations that are still live for many people.
- The middle h is lost in English speech, which changes the shape of the word.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Sahib
Masculine · #2941 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sahibs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Sahib are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sahib in 2025?
- Sahib ranks #2941 among US boy names in 2025, with 42 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sahib?
- About 1 in every 40,668 US boys born in 2025 was named Sahib — 42 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sahib with classmates?
- Sahib will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sahib
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Prescott#2941 · Kwame#2941 · Michelangelo#2941 · Jahan#2941 · Kairi#2941 · Yonah#2941 · Nihal#2941 · Reyes#2941
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sahib? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sahib and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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