Fun Facts About the Name Sable
- More than 1 thousand babies named Sable: U.S. records list 1,717 babies given the name Sable from 1880 through 2025. Even 16 boys received the name Sable - about 1 boy for every 106 girls.
What Does the Name Sable Mean?
Sable is an English name taken from the word for the sable, a small marten of the northern forests whose dark brown fur was long prized, and from the color word that grew out of it, meaning black. The English noun came from Old French sable, which named both the fur and the color black, and that word passed through Medieval Latin sabellum from Old High German zobel. The Germanic word was borrowed from a Slavic language (compare Russian sobol'), and the Slavic word is usually traced to an Iranian source.
The literal sense is the animal and its pelt; the color sense, "black," is a later extension that became standard in heraldry and poetry, where sable is the black tincture and an adjective for anything dark. As a personal name the word is not a compound with a translated meaning such as "gift" or "light" - its sense is the animal and the color. The French word sable meaning "sand," as in Sable Island off Nova Scotia, is a separate word from Latin sabulum and is unrelated to the fur and color term.
Sable Name History & Origins
The word entered English in the Middle Ages along with the fur trade. Old French sable named both the animal and its pelt, and forms of the term traveled through northern Europe in Medieval Latin and the Germanic languages. Sable fur, obtained largely from Russia and Siberia, was a luxury material in medieval and early modern Europe, worn by rulers and nobles and used as trim on robes and headwear.
From the fur came the heraldic term. In English blazon, sable is the tincture for black, one of the standard colors, and it came into regular use in English arms in the late Middle Ages alongside terms such as gules and azure. The same word served as a poetic adjective for black, and "sables" came to mean dark mourning garments.
As a given name, Sable is an uncommon English word name, used mainly for girls and drawn from the animal and the color rather than from a saint's name or a traditional inherited form. It also occurs as an English surname and in place names. Its later use for characters in modern fiction follows the word's long history rather than producing it.
How Popular is the Name Sable?
Sable recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1986. Its best rank was #902 in 1986.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,717 | 64 | 0.0040% |
| 2024 | #4,986 | 27 | 0.0017% |
| 2023 | #5,228 | 25 | 0.0016% |
| 2022 | #4,879 | 28 | 0.0017% |
| 2021 | #4,587 | 30 | 0.0018% |
| 2020 | #5,462 | 23 | 0.0014% |
| 2019 | #4,876 | 28 | 0.0017% |
| 2018 | #5,754 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 2017 | #6,004 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2016 | #6,156 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2015 | #7,546 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2014 | #7,995 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2013 | #7,682 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2012 | #6,826 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2011 | #19,033 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2010 | #10,330 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2009 | #7,992 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2008 | #8,880 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2007 | #7,342 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2006 | #8,627 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2005 | #6,761 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2004 | #5,928 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2003 | #6,828 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2002 | #3,870 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 2001 | #4,661 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2000 | #3,207 | 43 | 0.0024% |
| 1999 | #2,221 | 68 | 0.0038% |
| 1998 | #2,218 | 65 | 0.0037% |
| 1997 | #3,357 | 35 | 0.0020% |
| 1996 | #3,806 | 29 | 0.0017% |
| 1995 | #3,276 | 35 | 0.0020% |
| 1994 | #3,085 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 1993 | #3,037 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 1992 | #2,451 | 53 | 0.0029% |
| 1991 | #1,909 | 74 | 0.0039% |
| 1990 | #2,023 | 67 | 0.0035% |
| 1989 | #1,084 | 156 | 0.0085% |
| 1988 | #1,528 | 88 | 0.0049% |
| 1987 | #1,233 | 116 | 0.0067% |
| 1986 | #902 | 181 | 0.0106% |
| 1985 | #5,963 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1984 | #8,919 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1956 | #5,232 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #5,966 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #5,919 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1941 | #4,348 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1938 | #4,267 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1936 | #4,096 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1927 | #4,719 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1923 | #5,593 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #11,749 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2024 | #13,815 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #13,792 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Sable Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are spiritually intense and can sting or charm. Your name brings love and new starts into life and attracts money. In business, you are the creator and promoter of original ideas and usually enjoy considerable financial success. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Sable's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Sable's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.