Fun Facts About the Name Sawyer
- More than 84 thousand babies named Sawyer: U.S. records list 84,147 babies given the name Sawyer from 1880 through 2025. Of these, 18,333 girls received the name Sawyer - about 1 girl for every 4 boys.
What Does the Name Sawyer Mean?
Sawyer is an English occupational name meaning "one who saws wood" or "sawyer." It comes from Middle English sawyer, an agent noun built on the verb sawen, "to saw," which in turn goes back to the Old English noun sagu, "a saw." The ending -er marks the person who does the action, so the word identified someone whose work was cutting timber with a saw. The meaning is a plain job description rather than a symbolic or spiritual idea; the modern given name carries that occupational sense directly.
Sawyer Name History & Origins
The term appears in Middle English as an everyday occupational word, and during the later Middle Ages it became an English surname, since surnames were commonly taken from a person's trade. A sawyer's work was done with a long two-man pit saw: one worker stood in the pit below the timber and the other stood on top, and together they cut planks. The surname is recorded in England in various spellings, and it also spread to other English-speaking regions.
Use of Sawyer as a first name is more recent and is found mainly in the United States. The best-known literary association is the title character of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), which helped fix the name in readers' minds; the surname itself, however, is older than the novel. The given name gained wider use in the later twentieth century and is now given to both boys and girls, though it is more common for boys.
How Popular is the Name Sawyer?
Sawyer recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2015. Sawyer entered the top 100 U.S. boy names in 2015.
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 | #291 | 1,056 | 0.0657% |
| 2024 | #297 | 1,062 | 0.0658% |
| 2023 | #280 | 1,124 | 0.0701% |
| 2022 | #242 | 1,260 | 0.0769% |
| 2021 | #216 | 1,377 | 0.0840% |
| 2020 | #239 | 1,259 | 0.0779% |
| 2019 | #248 | 1,291 | 0.0770% |
| 2018 | #219 | 1,428 | 0.0840% |
| 2017 | #225 | 1,391 | 0.0806% |
| 2016 | #245 | 1,283 | 0.0724% |
| 2015 | #261 | 1,221 | 0.0684% |
| 2014 | #344 | 965 | 0.0540% |
| 2013 | #447 | 688 | 0.0392% |
| 2012 | #550 | 542 | 0.0308% |
| 2011 | #720 | 385 | 0.0219% |
| 2010 | #788 | 350 | 0.0197% |
| 2009 | #1,029 | 253 | 0.0138% |
| 2008 | #1,379 | 175 | 0.0093% |
| 2007 | #1,652 | 135 | 0.0070% |
| 2006 | #1,502 | 147 | 0.0077% |
| 2005 | #1,906 | 102 | 0.0055% |
| 2004 | #1,852 | 103 | 0.0056% |
| 2003 | #2,408 | 69 | 0.0038% |
| 2002 | #2,493 | 64 | 0.0036% |
| 2001 | #2,508 | 62 | 0.0034% |
| 2000 | #2,047 | 81 | 0.0045% |
| 1999 | #2,463 | 59 | 0.0033% |
| 1998 | #2,360 | 60 | 0.0034% |
| 1997 | #2,926 | 42 | 0.0024% |
| 1996 | #2,392 | 55 | 0.0031% |
| 1995 | #2,476 | 52 | 0.0030% |
| 1994 | #3,087 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 1993 | #2,868 | 42 | 0.0023% |
| 1992 | #4,498 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1991 | #4,965 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1990 | #5,777 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1989 | #5,494 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1988 | #6,191 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1987 | #5,555 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1986 | #7,020 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #122 | 2,941 | 0.1722% |
| 2024 | #132 | 2,756 | 0.1607% |
| 2023 | #127 | 2,842 | 0.1663% |
| 2022 | #131 | 2,911 | 0.1669% |
| 2021 | #114 | 3,256 | 0.1862% |
| 2020 | #116 | 3,187 | 0.1847% |
| 2019 | #106 | 3,558 | 0.1984% |
| 2018 | #99 | 3,878 | 0.2136% |
| 2017 | #95 | 4,171 | 0.2254% |
| 2016 | #97 | 4,248 | 0.2239% |
| 2015 | #94 | 4,271 | 0.2229% |
| 2014 | #110 | 3,596 | 0.1872% |
| 2013 | #120 | 3,166 | 0.1674% |
| 2012 | #147 | 2,741 | 0.1445% |
| 2011 | #172 | 2,179 | 0.1147% |
| 2010 | #173 | 2,220 | 0.1157% |
| 2009 | #202 | 1,897 | 0.0956% |
| 2008 | #225 | 1,674 | 0.0821% |
| 2007 | #240 | 1,511 | 0.0728% |
| 2006 | #247 | 1,389 | 0.0676% |
| 2005 | #307 | 1,069 | 0.0535% |
| 2004 | #439 | 592 | 0.0298% |
| 2003 | #441 | 570 | 0.0289% |
| 2002 | #499 | 463 | 0.0238% |
| 2001 | #487 | 471 | 0.0242% |
| 2000 | #461 | 517 | 0.0263% |
| 1999 | #482 | 463 | 0.0241% |
| 1998 | #502 | 429 | 0.0224% |
| 1997 | #520 | 389 | 0.0206% |
| 1996 | #525 | 380 | 0.0201% |
| 1995 | #492 | 438 | 0.0230% |
| 1994 | #469 | 463 | 0.0240% |
| 1993 | #532 | 375 | 0.0191% |
| 1992 | #596 | 299 | 0.0150% |
| 1991 | #952 | 126 | 0.0062% |
| 1990 | #1,132 | 91 | 0.0044% |
| 1989 | #1,290 | 72 | 0.0036% |
| 1988 | #1,464 | 53 | 0.0028% |
| 1987 | #1,230 | 63 | 0.0034% |
| 1986 | #1,453 | 48 | 0.0026% |
| 1985 | #2,693 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1984 | #3,891 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1983 | #4,435 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #6,599 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1913 | #2,469 | 7 | 0.0014% |
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 Sawyer 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.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Sawyer's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Sawyer's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.