Sabina

Sabina is a sleek but neglected name with the same spirited, stylish feel of Sabrina, Serena, and Selena. It ranked towards the latter end of the US charts in the early 20th century while a more recent year saw it given to 70 American girls.

The name is derived from that of an ancient tribe, the Sabines, who lived in central Italy and went to war with the Romans. According to legend, the Sabine women were kidnapped by the Romans but later affected peace between the warring sides. The exact etymology of the name is disputed, but a one theory is that it means "of one's own".

Borne by two early saints, it is also a literary choice, appearing in Thornton Wilder's play The Skin of Our Teeth and Milan Kudera's novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. British actress Sabina Franklyn is a notable real life bearer.

Popular in Poland and Czechia and familiar in the UK, Spain, and Slovenia where it has ranked in the past, Sabina is could make an unexpected but familiar option elsewhere.

The pronunciation of the name does vary slightly depending on language and location, with sa-BEE-na or sa-BEE-nuh heard in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and English, while SA-bih-na is used in Czech. International forms include French and German Sabine, Dutch Sabien, Italian Savina, and Hungarian Szabina.

Sabina (also written as Səbinə) is used in Azerbaijan and beyond, as a variation of the Arabic Sabiyya meaning "girl, young woman", adding a further international element to the name.

Pronounced suh-BEE-nuh.

As of October 2026, Sabina ranked #2579 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #596 in 1889, Nameberry popularity #461.