Saphire
Feminine · “Greek sappheiros”
The sapphire of the ancient world was probably lapis lazuli. Pliny describes sapphirus as a blue stone flecked with gold, which is lapis with its pyrite, not the blue corundum we mean today. Nearly every gemstone name in English has shifted at least once, and this one changed mineral entirely.
How old is the name Saphire?
Saphire first appears in US birth records in 1987 — 38 years ago. The typical Saphire alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 900 people named Saphire are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Saphire most popular?
Saphire peaked in 1997, reaching #3224 nationally. Today it ranks #8362, 5,138 places below that high. See the whole 1997 chart.
Where it comes from
From sappheiros to Saphire
The story of Saphire
Ancient gem names described appearance rather than mineralogy, and the categories do not map onto modern ones. Sapphirus was blue with gold flecks, which identifies lapis. Ancient topaz was probably peridot, named for an island in the Red Sea. Carbuncle covered any red stone, garnet and ruby alike, and ruby and sapphire were not distinguished as the same mineral in different colors until the eighteenth century, since nobody could tell that corundum was corundum. Amethyst was named for a belief that it prevented drunkenness, from a-methystos, not intoxicated. Emerald and beryl are the same word twice, arriving by different routes. So a biblical or classical reference to a sapphire is not a reference to what a jeweller now sells under that name, and translations that render the stones confidently are guessing.
Meaning
Greek sappheiros, a blue stone
From Greek sappheiros through Latin sapphirus, ultimately from a Semitic source, possibly related to Hebrew sappir, and perhaps further back to Sanskrit. In antiquity the word denoted lapis lazuli rather than the blue corundum now called sapphire. Saphire is an American respelling with a single p. It peaks in 1997.
How the name formed
- sappheiros
- sapphirus
- Sapphire
- Saphire
Related forms: Sapphire · Saphir
Pronouncing Saphire
SAF-ire
Two syllables, stress on the first. Identical to the gemstone; the single p is inaudible, since a doubled p between vowels represents one sound in English.
Nicknames for Saphire
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
- 1987
- Most girls named
- 200751 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3224reached in 1997
- Change vs 2024
- −55.6%12 in 2025, from 27
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.
Saphire in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sapphire in English — spelling variant
- Saphir in French — related form
Saphires among us
people named Saphire are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 133,939 born in 2025 was named Saphire
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Saphire
- #8362
- Saphire on the 2025 chart
- #940
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Saphire went to 12 girls in 2025, but Saphyre is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 20, which makes it the 940th most-given girls’ name of the year — 7,422 places above the chart.
- Saphire12
- Saphyre8
About 1 girl in 80,363 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 133,939 for Saphire itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Aracelia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Saphire's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Aracelia climbed just as high around 1955, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Aracelia's path sketches the road Saphire is walking now.
Saphire 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
Saphire beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Saphire in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The stone behind it is familiar and admired.
- The word has a documented history of three thousand years.
- Saph works as a short form.
- Sapphire with two p's is the standard spelling.
- The ancient word named a different mineral entirely.
- It is a common noun and will be read as one.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Saphire 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 Saphire? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Saphire
Feminine · #8362 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Saphires are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Saphire are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Saphire?
- Saphire is the most-used spelling in US records — 12 of the 20 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Saphyre.
- How popular is the name Saphire in 2025?
- Saphire ranks #8362 among US girl names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Saphire?
- About 1 in every 133,939 US girls born in 2025 was named Saphire — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Saphire with classmates?
- Saphire will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Saphire
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lona#8362 · Peggy#8362 · Leda#8362 · Margarette#8362 · Rella#8362 · Evalena#8362 · Vashti#8362 · Nona#8362
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Saphire? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Saphire 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