Sable
A name of French origin meaning "black fur or pelt".
Name Census estimates that about 1,567 living Americans carry the first name Sable. It is a predominantly female name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Sable today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sable births was 1986 (181 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sable. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 218,733 Americans
Peak year
1986
181 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,986
Tracked since 1923
Census
Sable in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,372 people with the first name Sable, which placed it at #9,907 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,907
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,372 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sable
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sable is White at 52.4%. The next largest groups are Black (26.4%) and Hispanic (12.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sable described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Sable at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.4% · 719
- Black or African American26.4% · 362
- Hispanic or Latino12.2% · 167
- Two or more races6.9% · 94
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 12
Gender
Gender distribution for Sable
Out of the 1,647 babies given the name Sable since 1880, 99.4% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Sable as a male name
- Ranked #13,815 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (5 births)
Sable as a female name
- Ranked #4,986 in 2024
- 27 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1986 (181 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sable leans strongly female. 1,335 people counted with this name were female (97.0%), compared with 41 male bearers (3.0%).
Popularity
Sable: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sable from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 560 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sable by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sable during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sables live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Sable, while New Jersey, Indiana, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sable
The name Sable has its origins in the French language, derived from the word "sable," meaning "sand" or "black fur." This name gained popularity in the Middle Ages, particularly in France and surrounding regions.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Sable can be found in the 12th-century French epic poem "The Song of Roland." In this work, Sable was mentioned as the name of a Saracen warrior, indicating its usage during that time period.
Throughout history, the name Sable has been associated with various individuals of note. One prominent figure was Sable d'Anville (1109-1192), a French noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the Crusades. Her name was often recorded in chronicles and historical accounts of the time.
Another individual bearing this name was Sable de Montfort (1235-1292), a French soldier and military commander who fought in the Seventh Crusade. He was known for his bravery and strategic skills on the battlefield.
In the realm of literature, Sable Marillac (1560-1618) was a French poet and writer who gained recognition for her poetic works during the Renaissance period.
Moving forward in time, Sable Delauney (1789-1853) was a French artist and painter who became renowned for her portraits and landscape paintings in the early 19th century.
Lastly, Sable Duchamp (1887-1968) was a French artist and sculptor who played a pivotal role in the development of the Dada and Surrealist movements. His innovative and unconventional works challenged traditional artistic norms and significantly influenced modern art.
These are just a few examples of the individuals who have borne the name Sable throughout history, highlighting its enduring presence across various fields and time periods.
People
Sable + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sable as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sable: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sable?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,567 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sable going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 218,733 US residents.
Is Sable a common name?
We classify Sable as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,647 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sable most popular?
The single biggest year for Sable was 1986, when 181 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sable is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sable in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,372 people with the name Sable, or 0.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,907 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Sable in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Sable?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sable leans strongly female. 1,335 people counted with this name were female (97.0%), compared with 41 male bearers (3.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Sable?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sable is White at 52.4%. The next largest groups are Black (26.4%) and Hispanic (12.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Sable most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sable in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.4% (719 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Sable in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sable a female name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Sable in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Sable still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sable in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Sable can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Sable as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Sable on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.