Sara

Let us start with a confession. Sara is one of those names that you assume you already know everything about. It is familiar, friendly and so easy to say that it rarely gets a second look. Which is a shame, because it deserves one.

The name is Hebrew, and its meaning is surprisingly grand: princess. Not bad for four letters and two syllables. And yet Sara wears that royal meaning with absolutely no fuss. There is no sense of a tiara or a velvet cushion here. This is a princess who mucks in, makes the tea and remembers everyone's birthday.

Huge in Catalonia, loved in Brazil

Where Sara really shines is Catalonia and Latin America. It is number 19 in Catalonia, number 26 in Brazil and number 34 in Argentina, which tells you it slides happily into a lot of languages without changing shape. Mexico City has it at 76.

Closer to home, it is number 97 in England & Wales, just inside the top hundred. Canada sits at 112, the United States had it at 183 in 2020, and France at 211. So it is recognisable more or less everywhere, but in Britain it still feels like a sensible, slightly understated choice rather than a trend.

Singers, serves and a prison drama

The namesakes cover plenty of ground. Sara Bareilles, the American singer-songwriter and pianist, brings a dose of pop rock warmth. Sara Errani, the Italian tennis player, adds some sporting grit. And fans of television will remember Sara Tancredi, the fictional character from Prison Break, proof that a Sara can hold her own in a very tense drama.

For something more playful, Sara comes with a handful of nicknames:

• Sare, short and breezy
• Sari, bright and a little bit bouncy
• Sarita, which somehow makes the name even sweeter

That last one is a lovely option for grandparents who like a diminutive with a bit of sparkle.

As for siblings, Sara feels right at home next to Hannah, Rachel, David, Jacob and Daniel. These are names with long histories that have never gone out of fashion, the kind that look as good on a christening card as they will on a retirement cake. A Sara and a Daniel sound like they have been best friends since before they could talk.

Perhaps the best thing about Sara is how little it asks of you. It will rarely need spelling out over the phone more than once, it will never date badly, and it will grow from a gap-toothed seven-year-old to a formidable grandmother without missing a beat. Royal meaning, zero ego: quite a combination.

Not that any of this will make choosing easier. You will still lie awake debating it, test it out loud in every possible tone of voice and wonder whether there is something better hiding on page forty of the list. That is the delicious agony of naming. But if you fancy a princess who keeps her feet firmly on the ground, Sara is well worth a closer look.