Sage: meaning and UK use

What does Sage mean?

Sage can refer to the English herb name or the word for a wise person. Both routes are recorded; one does not have to be selected for every family.

Language or name family covered

English word name

Meaning or derivation

The herb or a wise person

Our browsing group

unisex; nature, modern

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Sage

Pronunciation and related forms

SAYJ (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

Related forms recorded in the reference: Saige. These may be full forms, diminutives or forms in another language; they are not necessarily pronounced alike or counted together in statistics.

How popular is Sage?

In 2025, 64 baby girls in England and Wales were registered as Sage, making it the 610th most popular girls’ name. That is down 90 places on 2024, when it ranked 520th. It is used for both sexes: 33 boys were also given the name (934th for boys). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it ranked 3615th, so it has climbed 3,005 places in a decade. Its best year in the ONS series was 2024, at 520th. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (girls)

610th

2025 registrations

64

Best rank in this series

520th (2024)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Sage: rank and number of baby girls by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	610	64
2024	520	75
2023	545	71
2022	638	59
2021	840	42
2020	1449	21
2019	1782	16
2018	2340	11
2017	3229	7
2016	2367	11
2015	3615	6
2014	4003	5
2013	3160	7
2012	2969	8
2011	—	Not published
2010	3156	7
2009	5556	3
2008	4524	4
2007	—	Not published
2006	2509	8
2005	—	Not published
2004	3197	5
2003	—	Not published
2002	2868	5
2001	2783	5
2000	—	Not published
1999	—	Not published
1998	—	Not published
1997	—	Not published
1996	—	Not published

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 girls series is 440. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Sage

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Rivernature, modern · A river
• Edennature, modern · Possibly delight or a plain
• Blakemodern · From words for black or pale
• Frankiemodern · A short form of Frank or Frances
• Marlowemodern · Remnants of a lake
• Quinnmodern · From the surname Ó Cuinn

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Sage, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.