Sanaa
About Sanaa
Simple-yet-unusual name with a creative meaning. Actress Sanaa Lathan promoted it, and it was on the U.S. popularity list from 2003 to 2011. Shaquille O'Neal used it as the middle name of his daughter Amirah. And spelled Sana'a, it's the capital of Yemen.
Sanne, a popular name in the Netherlands, has a similar feel, as does Sana. Sana'a is also a place name, being the capital of Yemen.
Pronounced sah-NAH.
As of October 2026, Sanaa ranked #2116 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #606 in 2006.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,142 | 219 | 122.6 |
| 2015 | #1,232 | 201 | 112.6 |
| 2016 | #1,161 | 217 | 122.5 |
| 2017 | #1,242 | 192 | 111.2 |
| 2018 | #1,388 | 162 | 95.2 |
| 2019 | #1,579 | 136 | 81 |
| 2020 | #1,501 | 143 | 88.5 |
| 2021 | #1,859 | 108 | 65.8 |
| 2022 | #2,067 | 94 | 57.3 |
| 2023 | #2,136 | 90 | 56.1 |
| 2024 | #2,397 | 76 | 46.9 |
| 2025 | #2,116 | 89 | 55.4 |
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Sanaa.
Sanaa on lists
Famous Sanaas
- Sonal "Sanaa" Chappelle
daughter of comedian Dave Chappelle
- Sanaa McCoy Lathan
American actress
- Sanaa Gamil (born Thoraya Youssef Atallah)
Egyptian actress
- Sanaa Hamri
Moroccan,American film director
- Sanaa Bhambri
Indian tennis player
- Sanaa Ismail Hamed
Miss Egypt World 2008
- Amirah Sanaa O'Neal (b. 2001)
daughter of basketball player Shaquille O'Neal
- Sanaa aka Sananas
French,Moroccan YouTuber