How to say it
SAGE
/seɪdʒ/
Unisex
Sage
Wise one, the herb
What it means
Two English roots converged: the plant sage (Latin salvia, 'to heal') and the adjective sage ('wise,' from Latin sapere, 'to be wise'). Both contribute to the name's modern meaning.
Sage carries two English roots that converged. The plant sage comes from Latin salvia ('saving, healing'), referring to its medicinal use. The adjective sage ('wise') comes from a different Latin root, sapere ('to be wise, to taste') — same source as 'sapient.' As a given name Sage is modern American and unisex; it emerged in the 1990s and accelerated alongside the broader botanical and virtue-name wave. It's been in the US top 200 since 2013. Single syllable, no short.
Popularity over time
Feminine: peaked at #142 in 2023, currently #160 in 2025.
Masculine: peaked at #387 in 2022, currently #456 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
The herb-and-wisdom dual reading is part of the appeal; some families lean botanical, others lean virtue.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Sage Steele American sports journalist, ESPN
Spelling variants
- Saige
- Sayge
Names with the same feeling
See Sage from another angle
By meaning