Meaning: Its source is a Hebrew expression meaning "Princess."

Languages: This girl's name is used in Hebrew, Arabic, German, Dutch, English, Italian, French, Spanish, Hungarian, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Urdu.

Nicknames: Sadie, Sally and Sarie

Compound Forms: Mersera

Alternative Spellings: Sarra and Sarrah

Non-English Forms: Saara, Serita and Sàri

Popularity: The name Sara ranked 59th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics, 84th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census and 58th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1994 US Census.

This name first made its appearance on state popularity lists of the 1990s, and has been trending upward in usage ever since.

Narrative: In Jewish scripture, Sarah (spelled Sara in the original Greek translations) is the wife of Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people. She is celebrated for her beauty as well as for her audacity.

For instance, when God promises to bless her with a child despite her advanced years and life-long infertility, she laughs out loud in disbelief. She laughs again after giving birth to the promised son, and that laughter names the boy -- Isaac (in Hebrew Yitzchak), meaning ''laughter.''