Namewise

Names beginning with S

Every name in Namewise's catalogue whose recorded spelling begins with S, listed alphabetically. Names are grouped by the spelling a registrar published, so a name spelled differently in another country appears under that spelling's own letter.

1,222 names beginning with "S"

Full profile: deeper editorial detail. Official popularity record: sourced statistical evidence, editorial detail not yet written. Name identity record: exists in the catalogue with limited current evidence. Namewise is expanding editorial depth over time.

Sarah

female

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From Hebrew, meaning 'lady, princess, noblewoman'. In the Old Testament, Sarah's name was changed from Sarai by God, alongside Abraham's own name change (Genesis 17:15); she is regarded as matriarch of the Jewish people.

Biblical Hebrew
Sean

male

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The Irish form of John, ultimately carrying the meaning 'Yahweh is gracious' via its Hebrew ancestry.

Irish, Anglicised form of Sean, via Hebrew John
Sophie

female

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The French form of Sophia, from Ancient Greek 'sophia' meaning 'wisdom'.

Greek, via French transmission
Susan

female

Official popularity record

Silje

female

Official popularity record

Shannon

female

Official popularity record

Sharon

female

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From a Hebrew place name — a fertile plain on the central west coast of Israel, also referenced in the biblical 'rose of Sharon' flowering plant. Used as a feminine given name in English since the 1920s.

Biblical Hebrew (place name origin)
Sofie

female

Official popularity record

Sinead

female

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Irish form of Jeannette/Janet; the underlying chain traces to the Hebrew name Yochanan, commonly interpreted as 'God is gracious'.

Irish, via Anglo-Norman French Jeannette
Stian

male

Official popularity record

Sander

male

Official popularity record

Samuel

male

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Traditionally rendered as 'name of God', though also popularly interpreted as 'God has heard' — sources differ on which root is emphasised.

Biblical Hebrew, via Greek Samouel
Stephen

male

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From Greek Stephanos, meaning 'crown, wreath' — literally 'that which surrounds'. Saint Stephen, a deacon stoned to death in the New Testament, is regarded as the first Christian martyr.

Greek
Samantha

female

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Likely a feminine adaptation of Samuel, incorporating a suffix possibly derived from Greek 'anthos' ('flower'). Emerged in 18th-century America; boosted to wide popularity by the 1964 television series Bewitched.

Hebrew, feminine adaptation (uncertain suffix origin)
Sandra

female

Official popularity record

Shane

male

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An Anglicized form of Seán, ultimately from Hebrew elements meaning 'Yahweh' and 'gracious' — the same root tradition as John. Popularised in America by the 1953 western film Shane.

Hebrew, via Irish Seán
Stine

female

Official popularity record

Sara

female

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A variant spelling of Sarah, traditionally interpreted as 'lady', 'princess', or 'noblewoman'.

Hebrew, widely used across Arabic and other languages
Sophia

female

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Wisdom.

Greek
Svein

male

Official popularity record

Stephanie

female

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The feminine form of Stephen, from Greek Stephanos meaning 'crown, wreath'.

Greek
Sadie

female

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A diminutive form of the name Sarah.

Biblical Hebrew, diminutive form
Selma

female

Official popularity record

Sebastian

male

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Traditionally interpreted as 'venerable' or 'revered' — from Latin Sebastianus, 'from Sebaste' (a city in Asia Minor), whose own name derives from a Greek word used to translate the Roman imperial title Augustus.

Latin, from Greek

Showing 24 of 60 names on this page.