Sarah

In the Christian tradition

Sarah is the wife of Abraham, the matriarch through whom the covenant promise descends, and the mother of Isaac in her old age. Her name change from Sarai to Sarah (Genesis 17:15) parallels Abram's change to Abraham, marking the covenant. The name has been in continuous Christian use across the centuries.

Sarah's laughter at the promise of a son in her old age (Genesis 18:12) gives Isaac his name ("he laughs"). Christian tradition reads Sarah as a model of the long covenant promise: the child of promise comes through her in old age, when the human possibility has passed. The Letter to the Hebrews (11:11) holds her up as a model of faith. The name has been in continuous Christian use; modern English-speaking Christian families use it freely.