MEANING & CONTEXT
What does Sahib mean?
Arabic ṣāḥib originally denotes a companion or associate. Through Persian and Punjabi, Sahib became a respectful title, including a reverential address for God in Punjabi usage.
Meaning themes
Spellings in Indian scripts
Devanagari
साहिब
Conventional spelling
Gurmukhi
ਸਾਹਿਬ
Conventional spelling
Arabic
صاحب
Conventional spelling
HISTORICAL VOTER RECORDS
Sahib in Indian usage
13,780 historical electoral-roll records, chiefly adults, rather than current baby-name rankings.
Mostly recorded for boys (93.8%) in these historical records.
- Recorded as female: 861 records (6.2%).
- Recorded as male: 12,919 records (93.8%).
By birth decade
| Birth decade | Records |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 518 |
| 1950s | 876 |
| 1960s | 1,719 |
| 1970s | 3,187 |
| 1980s | 4,406 |
| 1990s | 2,828 |
| Other decades | 246 |
By state or territory
| State / territory | Records |
|---|---|
| Punjab | 8,947 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 1,784 |
| Haryana | 1,287 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 439 |
| Rajasthan | 401 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 276 |
| Bihar | 239 |
| Uttarakhand | 166 |
| Other states | 241 |
How to read these numbers
Small counts and a second count where needed are withheld for privacy; an omitted value is not zero. Coverage, dates and suppression.
Recorded abroad
Official births registered in 2025, for the exact spelling shown.
| Jurisdiction | Spelling / recorded sex | Births | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| England & Wales | Sahib / M | 40 | 811 |
| England & Wales | Sahib / F | 9 | 2,788 |
ONS and National Records of Scotland; Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3. Counts follow each office’s publication rules.
Explore related lists
Sources
- Historical Indian voter-record totals, v3 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Historical usage; CC0 1.0; birth years 1910–2001
- England & Wales 2025 birth statistics: Exact spelling Sahib; Table_6, C826 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Exact spelling Sahib; Table_6, C826
- England & Wales 2025 birth statistics: Exact spelling Sahib; Table_6, C3005 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Exact spelling Sahib; Table_6, C3005
- Wiktionary: ਸਾਹਿਬ ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Adapted dictionary text: CC BY-SA 4.0.