Girl · #13,427 in 2026

Sabah

Name: Popularity of the name Sabah in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Sabah, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Sabah is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalimantan province to the south. The Federal Territory of Labuan is an island just off Sabah's west coast. Sabah shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the west and the Philippines to the north and east.

Current Rank

#13,427

Peak Rank

#4,583 (1996)

Total Babies

522

5-Yr Trend

-28%

1968

First Year

2024

Last Year

1996

Peak Year

#4583

Peak Rank

522

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Sabah

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Etymology

The origin of the name Sabah is uncertain, and many theories have arisen. One theory is that when it was part of the Bruneian Sultanate , it was referred to as Saba because of the presence a variety of banana called pisang saba (also known as pisang menurun ), which are grown widely on the coast of the region and popular in Brunei . The Bajau community referred to it as pisang jaba . Additionally, during the Majapahit era, when Brunei was a vassal state of Majapahit , the Old Javanese eulogy of Nagarakretagama described the area in what is now Sabah as Seludang . Although the Chinese since the

Origin & history

Main article: History of Sabah

The Story of Sabah

Sabah first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1968, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1996, when 22 Sabahs were born — ranking #4,583 that year. As of 2026, Sabah ranks #13,427 for baby girls with 6 births, falling sharply (-28%). In total, more than 522 Sabahs have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1960s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Sabah

Phonetically similar names — useful when Sabah is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Saba
Soba
Sabi
Sabo
Seba
Suba
Sabba
Sapa
Sobie
Siba
Ceiba
Ciba

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Sabah

What does the name Sabah mean?

How popular is Sabah in 2026?

In 2026, Sabah ranks #13,427 among girls' names in the U.S., with 6 babies given the name that year.

When was Sabah most popular?

Sabah reached its peak popularity in 1996, ranking #4,583 that year with 22 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Sabah most popular?

Sabah has historically been most popular in New York, California. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Sabah.

Is Sabah a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Sabah is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Sabah?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Sabah include Tereza, Yuka, Sareena. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Sabah

Sabah is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1968 and has accumulated 522 births in the dataset. Sabah's peak popularity came in 1996 when it ranked #4,583. Use the chart and map above to compare Sabah's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.