Sage sits at rank 413 with 15,068 total American boys carrying the name on the boys' chart, with notable additional usage on the girls' side that makes Sage one of the cleaner contemporary unisex names. The 2022 peak places it within the active nature-name surge, and the herb-and-wisdom dual meaning gives parents two distinct angles to invoke.
The Latin double meaning
Sage comes from two related Latin roots that converge in the modern name. The herb sage descends from Latin salvia ("healing plant"), via Old French sauge. The wisdom meaning comes from Latin sapere ("to be wise"), via Old French sage. English absorbed both senses, and the name draws on either or both depending on the parents' framing. The herb's medicinal and culinary use across Mediterranean cultures gives the name a grounded, sensory association.
Notable bearers include Sage Stallone, the actor and son of Sylvester Stallone; Sage Karam, the racing driver; and Sage the character in the Valorant video game. The name stayed quietly in use through the 2000s before climbing sharply in the 2010s and peaking in 2022.
The unisex nature register
Sage fits comfortably alongside River, Wren, and Oakley in the contemporary unisex nature cluster. The single-syllable, single-spelling structure keeps it administratively simple, and the meaning works across contexts. Browse four-letter boy names for related compact options.
The counter-reading
The honest consideration with Sage is the unisex tilt: a child named Sage will likely encounter both boys and girls sharing the name in school cohorts, and the gender association won't be immediately legible from the name alone. The wisdom meaning sets a high bar that some families embrace and others find heavy for a baby. Browse rising names for cohort context, or check Latin names for related etymological options. Sibling pairings work well across nature registers: Sage and Wren, Sage and Juniper, Sage and Rowan.