Sabrina

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Girl · Celtic, through Latin

Sabrina

Say it: suh-BREE-nuh

Try it with your surname

Meaning

The Latin name of the River Severn (Sabrina, earlier Sabrinna), a Celtic river name whose meaning is unknown; the claim that it means 'princess' is not supported.

Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.

Geoffrey of Monmouth and later Milton made Sabrina the spirit of the Severn, and the 1954 film Sabrina made it a popular American girls' name.

Its wave through time

Fading since the 1990s

In the United States

0123418801900192019401960198020002020Peak 1997per 1,000 babies of that sex
  • 138,740 babies given this name since 1916
  • At its height in 1997, about 1 in 299 girls
  • 793 babies in 2020

Through the ages

  1. Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
  2. The Modern Age1880 to today

Used by

EnglishItalianGermanAmerican

The family of the name

Other spellings: Sabrena, Zabrina

ItalianSabrina
GermanSabrina
FrenchSabrine

Famous bearers

  • Sabrina, nymph of the Severn in Milton's masque Comus

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • Well-known works of literature
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.