Pharaoh is the title of the kings of ancient Egypt and comes from the Egyptian per-aa, meaning "great house", the royal palace. As a first name it joins the American tradition of regal word names like King and Prince, and the jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders gave the sound a cultural pedigree. Pharaoh was rare in 2000, peaked at number 1025 in 2019 and ranks number 2051 in 2025.