Saul
From Hebrew Sha'ul, meaning asked for or prayed for. It belonged to the first king of Israel and to the apostle Paul before his change of name.
Saul in 2025
Saul was given to 535 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 1,116th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 6,197 babies born.
The history of Saul
Saul reached its highest point in 2006, when 1,120 babies were given the name, ranking 593rd that year. Its best-ever ranking was 548th, in 1997.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 43,362 babies have been named Saul. Half of them were born before 1998, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation Z.
Saul by decade
| Decade | Babies named Saul | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 87 | 918 |
| 1890s | 115 | 1,263 |
| 1900s | 245 | 987 |
| 1910s | 1,662 | 744 |
| 1920s | 1,996 | 849 |
| 1930s | 1,233 | 1,018 |
| 1940s | 972 | 1,292 |
| 1950s | 1,241 | 1,403 |
| 1960s | 1,519 | 1,268 |
| 1970s | 2,712 | 961 |
| 1980s | 4,147 | 862 |
| 1990s | 7,412 | 548 |
| 2000s | 10,547 | 554 |
| 2010s | 6,315 | 796 |
| 2020s | 3,159 | 1,052 |
Where Saul is heading
Saul has fallen 10% over the past decade, from 592 babies in 2015 to 535 in 2025.
Names like Saul
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Saul.