Sabrina is a feminine given name derived from Proto-Celtic *Sabrinā.

Etymology

The name of the river Severn was recorded as early as the 2nd century in the Latinized form Sabrina. The reconstructed British form is *Sabrinā. The modern Welsh form is Hafren or Habren. Its Arabic equivalent is صابرينا ṣābrīnā, resulting from a folk etymology from the root "patience", although there is another variant سابرينا sābrīnā, its use mostly limited to non-Arabs.

Welsh legend

According to a legend recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century, Habren was the daughter of a king named Locrinus (also known as Locrin or Locrine in English) by his mistress, the Germanic princess Estrildis. Locrinus ruled England after the death of his father, Brutus of Troy, the legendary second founder of Britain. Locrinus cast aside his wife, Guendolen, and their son Maddan and acknowledged Sabrina and her mother, but the enraged Guendolen raised an army against him and defeated Locrinus in battle. Guendolen then ordered that Sabrina and her mother be drowned in the river. The river was named after Sabrina so Locrine's betrayal of Guendolen would never be forgotten. According to legend, Sabrina lives in the river, which reflects her mood. She rides in a chariot and dolphins and salmon swim alongside her. The later story suggests that the legend of Sabrina could have become intermingled with old stories of a river goddess or nymph. Fletcher refers to the legend in The Faithful Shepherdess (1608). Milton adopted the legend in his Comus (1634), using the Latin form Sabrina.

Popularity

The use of Sabrina was very rare as a given name in Britain prior to the 19th century, with the singular exception of Sabrina Sidney (1757–1843), an English foundling girl, named for her orphanage overlooking River Severn. Its popularity rose, at first in the United States, following the release of the film Sabrina (1954), a romantic drama-comedy based on Samuel Taylor's Sabrina Fair, in which the protagonist Sabrina Fairchild was played by Audrey Hepburn. It was boosted by the popularity of the comic book character Sabrina the Teenage Witch, who debuted in 1962. Additional peaks in usage followed its use for characters on the American television series Charlie's Angels, which aired from 1976 to 1981, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, based on the comic book character, which aired from 1996 to 2003. It was the 789th most popular name for females born in the United States in 1954, and rose to the 245th most popular name in 1955, immediately following the release of the film Sabrina. According to Dunkling (1983), "[i]n the U.S. Sabrina has tended to displace Sabina since [the 1950s]." The name had peaks in popularity in 1970 (rank 107) and 1977 (rank 63). The 1996 television series resulted in a renewed peak in 1997 (rank 53). The name was ranked as the 412th most popular name for American-born females in 2022. The name peaked in popularity in France in 1979–1981 (rank 8) and in Italy in 2001 (rank 35). In Germany, it peaked in popularity at rank 8 in 1987 and 1989.

People

Pseudonyms:

Fictional characters