unisex name
Sawyer
SAW-yer
- Origin English
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 92,304
the United States
#122
2025 births
Sawyer is a name of English origin meaning "one who saws wood." It began as an occupational surname for a pit sawyer — a job done in pairs, with one man in a pit below the log and one standing above it.
- Sawyer is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2017, when 5,562 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 829 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1913.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Sawyer over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 7 |
| 1970s | 5 |
| 1980s | 328 |
| 1990s | 3,860 |
| 2000s | 11,344 |
| 2010s | 43,577 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 25,055 |
What Sawyer means
Sawyer means a sawer of timber, from the Middle English sawier. The trade was specific and physically brutal: cutting planks from logs by hand before mechanised sawmills.
Where Sawyer comes from
Sawyer comes from the Middle English sawier, from sawen, to saw. Before mechanisation, planks were cut in a saw pit: the log was laid over a trench, the top sawyer stood on it guiding the cut, and the bottom sawyer stood in the pit pulling down — and received the sawdust in his face for his trouble, which is the origin of the term underdog in some accounts. The surname is recorded from the thirteenth century. Its modern use as a given name owes a great deal to Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer, published in 1876, and it is now given to both boys and girls.
Sawyer in use
A saw pit needed two men — the one below got the sawdust, and by some accounts gave English the word underdog.
How popular is Sawyer?
In 2025, Sawyer was given to 3,997 babies in the United States, ranking #122 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Sawyer is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Sawyer
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Sawyer also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Sawyer over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Sawyer
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Sibling names for Sawyer
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Sawyer — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Sawyer
What does the name Sawyer mean?
Sawyer means "one who saws wood," from the medieval occupational term.
Is Sawyer a boy's or a girl's name?
Both, though it is given more often to boys.
Is Sawyer from Tom Sawyer?
The surname is medieval, but Twain's 1876 novel drove its use as a first name.
How popular is the name Sawyer?
In 2025, Sawyer was given to 3,997 babies in the United States, ranking #122 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Sawyer?
Sawyer has 2 syllables.
When was Sawyer most popular?
Sawyer peaked in 2017, when 5,562 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Sawyer?
Sawyer is usually shortened to Saw.
Is Sawyer a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Sawyer currently ranks #122 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.