Rising since 2000, #1,769 for girls today.
Popularity of Saphira since 1996
Babies named Saphira per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 2008, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Saphira's real moment was 2017.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 10 |
| 2000s | 434 |
| 2010s | 1,219 |
| 2020s | 683 |
Meaning & origin
Saphira first appeared in U.S. data in 1996 and has since climbed to a rank of 1769 in 2023, with roughly 1 in 14,099 baby girls receiving the name. Its peak year was 2017, reflecting a rise in popularity that accelerated after 2000. The name has been most common in Washington, Minnesota, and Ohio, suggesting a concentration in states with a taste for distinctive, nature-inspired names. While its exact origins are unclear, Saphira strongly evokes the word 'sapphire' and gained notable exposure through the dragon character in the Inheritance fantasy series. Its upward trajectory indicates continued but modest appeal.
Saphira is a modern invented name, likely derived from the gemstone sapphire, which comes from Latin sapphirus and Greek sappheiros. The name gained visibility through the dragon character Saphira in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle series, beginning with the novel Eragon (2002). It follows a trend of fantasy-inspired names ending in -a.
Where Saphira is most popular
Births per 100,000 girls by state, 2025. The lightest shade means too few recorded births.
“Saphira” around the world
Where Saphira lands in the latest official birth statistics abroad, matched to the U.S. spelling.
France
5
babies in 2024
Sources: INSEE (France).
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Saph, Phira, Saffy
Sibling names for Saphira
Names that share Saphira's style, for a brother or sister.
