# Sally (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/sally/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsæl.i/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Sal, Saz |
| Variant spellings | Sallie |
| US babies named this | 205,876 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 647 / 205,229 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,294, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A diminutive lambdacism of Sarah. Compare Hal from Harry and Moll from Mary.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 212 | 1,159 |
| 2012 | 208 | 1,186 |
| 2013 | 218 | 1,120 |
| 2014 | 209 | 1,177 |
| 2015 | 222 | 1,141 |
| 2016 | 211 | 1,187 |
| 2017 | 245 | 1,053 |
| 2018 | 195 | 1,212 |
| 2019 | 161 | 1,402 |
| 2020 | 200 | 1,169 |
| 2021 | 192 | 1,228 |
| 2022 | 176 | 1,340 |
| 2023 | 171 | 1,329 |
| 2024 | 225 | 1,096 |
| 2025 | 201 | 1,158 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 10 | 2,816 |
| 1965 | 8 | 3,202 |
| 1966 | 5 | 4,431 |
| 1968 | 9 | 3,067 |
| 1969 | 7 | 3,875 |
| 1970 | 9 | 3,478 |
| 1974 | 7 | 4,555 |
| 1975 | 7 | 4,699 |
| 1976 | 7 | 4,838 |
| 1980 | 6 | 6,108 |
| 1981 | 5 | 7,088 |
| 1987 | 5 | 7,923 |
| 1990 | 6 | 7,936 |
| 1991 | 6 | 8,065 |
| 1992 | 5 | 9,559 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 54 | 714 |
| 2012 | 48 | 801 |
| 2013 | 37 | 982 |
| 2014 | 38 | 963 |
| 2015 | 35 | 1,007 |
| 2016 | 28 | 1,211 |
| 2017 | 26 | 1,296 |
| 2018 | 15 | 1,887 |
| 2019 | 29 | 1,153 |
| 2020 | 17 | 1,687 |
| 2021 | 24 | 1,311 |
| 2022 | 28 | 1,180 |
| 2023 | 11 | 2,346 |
| 2024 | 17 | 1,743 |
| 2025 | 31 | 1,079 |

## People named Sally

- Sally Field, American actress
- Sally Ride, American astronaut and physicist (1951–2012)
- Sally Hawkins, English actress (1976–)
- Sally Kellerman, American actress (1937–2022)
- Sally Pearson, Australian short-distance runner and hurdler
- Sally Kirkland, American actress, film producer, and activist (1941–2025)
- Sally Potter, English film director and screenwriter (born 1949)
- Sally Struthers, American actress (born 1947)
- Sally Gunnell, British former track and field athlete
- Sally Hemings, American enslaved woman (c1773-1835); owned by Thomas Jefferson and mother of his children
- Sally Mann, American photographer (born 1951)
- Sally Blane, American actress (1910-1997)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.