Holding steady, #8,362 for girls today.
Popularity of Saphire since 1987
Babies named Saphire per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1980s | 29 |
| 1990s | 239 |
| 2000s | 335 |
| 2010s | 229 |
| 2020s | 91 |
Meaning & origin
Saphire is a modern respelling of Sapphire that first entered U.S. records in 1987, a time when jewel names were on the rise. It reached its peak in 2007, likely following a general trend of gemstone names. Despite the peak, it remains rare: in 2025 it ranked 8362 with an incidence of 1 in 133,939. The spelling variant 'Saphire' has never broken into the top 5000, maintaining consistent but low usage. It has appeared in no state's top lists, suggesting it is used sporadically across the country. The name's stability indicates a small but steady core of parents who prefer this phonetic spelling over the standard 'Sapphire'.
Saphire is a phonetic respelling of Sapphire, the name of a precious gemstone. The word Sapphire comes from the Greek 'sappheiros', which likely derived from a Semitic root. The gemstone name has been used as a given name since the 20th century, with the 'Saphire' variant emerging as a creative spelling to emphasize the 'saf' sound. The name has never been common, but it reflects a trend of adopting jewel names for girls in English-speaking countries.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Saph, Saffy, Phire
Sibling names for Saphire
Names that share Saphire's style, for a brother or sister.
