"S" Names

Sable is often associated with the Dynsaty soap opera, but it is actually a type of animal historically hunted for its fur. Sable is also used as a word for a warm, rich black color. Both associations carry hints of luxury.

Sage is an evocatively fragrant herbal name that also connotes wisdom, giving it a double advantage. It entered the Top 1000 at about the same time for both genders in the early 1990s, but it has pulled ahead for the girls. Toni Collette named her daughter Sage Florence.

A beautiful and evocative place-name that deserves wider use.

Lovely Japanese name that would certainly be appreciated in Europe and the U.S. It was rarely used in Japan until the 1990s, and draws its current popularity from the fact that it is deeply connected to Japanese traditional culture without sounding frumpy and old-fashioned.

Chosen by Woody Allen for his son with Mia Farrow (now renamed Seamus), honoring the great old-time baseball player Satchel Paige, and by Spike Lee for his daughter, but far too eccentric for ordinary use.

Scarlett Johansson is doing more for this sparky southern name than Scarlett O'Hara ever did. Since the turn of the 21st century, Scarlett has gone from an obscure literary name to one of the most popular girls' names starting with S, right after longtime favorites Sophia and Sofia.

Of all the astrological names —think Leo, Aries, Gemini— Scorpio probably has the most dramatically potent presence, which could prove something of a burden to a young boy.

Place names can be a nod to your cultural heritage or a commemoration of a favorite destination. Scotia comes from the Latin name for Scotland, which may be a perfect fit for a family of Scottish heritage if Scotland feels too on-the-nose. Caledonia is another possibility, used by the Romans for the land north of Hadrian's Wall in England, which marked the upper boundary of the Roman Empire. And Nova Scotia (meaning "new Scotland") is also the name of a Canadian province.

A cool, windswept, surfer babe-magnet in 1965, a nice dad -- or even granddad -- today.

Name for a seventh child, back when people had them.

Septimus is one of the more dashing of the birth-order Latin number names that were revived by the Victorians. So even if you don't anticipate son number 7, you might be bold enough to consider this relic, certainly preferable to sixth-son name Sextus.

Also spelled Sigfrid, this hefty German name has an appropriately majestic meaning: "victorious peace". Fittingly, a famous bearer was the English World War I poet and pacifist Siegfried Sassoon. Sassoon was named after the hero of a Wagner opera, which in turn was based on a tragic hero from German legend.

Sienna has been a Top 100 choice in England & Wales since 2005, the year after Sienna Miller's acting breakthrough in the hit movies Alfie and Layer Cake. In the US, it also got a big boost in the early noughties, before dropping slightly then rebounding to reach an all-time high in 2022.

Sierra is a name borrowed from the western mountain range, with Latin rhythm and cowboy charm, that has led to many offshoots: Cierra, Cyara, and so on. It is now probably past its peak but retains its pretty-yet-strong sound. The meaning refers to the sharp, irregular peaks of some of the Western mountains such as the Sierra Nevada.

The connection to Freud is a strong one, but this German name has a strong and interesting sound and great nickname potential: Ziggy, Iggy, Sim, Sid...

Sigrid is a distinctly Scandinavian name that is starting to edge out into the wider world, a la cousin Ingrid. Unfortunately, short form Siri is now off the table, but Sigrid is still a possibility.

The Puritans used it as a virtue name -- but today it would just be considered weird: silence is no longer golden.

Variant of Sylvana

Among the first wave of word names used in the hippie era, it actually is a legitimate girl's name with a lot of luster.