Sarah

From the Hebrew name שָׂרָה (Sara) signifying "lady, princess, noblewoman". In the Old Testament, this is the wife of Abraham, considered the matriarch of the Jewish people. She was barren until she unexpectedly conceived Isaac at age 90. Her original name was Sarai, changed by God along with Abraham's name (see Genesis 17:15).

In England, Sarah came into use after the Protestant Reformation. It was consistently popular throughout the 20th-century English-speaking world, topping the charts for England and Wales in the 1970s and 80s.

Notable bearers include Sarah Churchill (1660-1744), an influential British duchess and close friend of Queen Anne, and the French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923).