The first name Sally
A girl’s name.
Pronounced /ˈsæl.i/ 2 syllables Female Also a surname
Meaning and origin
A diminutive lambdacism of Sarah. Compare Hal from Harry and Moll from Mary.
Sally is a short form of
.From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
In 2025, 31 girls were named Sally, making it the 1,079th most popular girls’ name. It peaked in 1996, with 309 births (#144).
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Sally with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Sally at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 201 girls born in the United States were named Sally, the 1,158th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 1947, when 5,265 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Nicknames and spellings
Famous people named Sally
67 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Sally FieldAmerican actress, born 1946
- Sally RideAmerican astronaut and physicist (1951–2012)
- Sally HawkinsEnglish actress (1976–)
- Sally KellermanAmerican actress (1937–2022)
- Sally PearsonAustralian short-distance runner and hurdler, born 1986
- Sally KirklandAmerican actress, film producer, and activist (1941–2025)
- Sally PotterEnglish film director and screenwriter (born 1949)
- Sally StruthersAmerican actress (born 1947)
- Sally GunnellBritish former track and field athlete, born 1966
- Sally HemingsAmerican enslaved woman (c1773-1835); owned by Thomas Jefferson and mother of his children
- Sally MannAmerican photographer (born 1951)
- Sally BlaneAmerican actress (1910-1997)
Questions
- What does the name Sally mean?
- A diminutive lambdacism of Sarah. Compare Hal from Harry and Moll from Mary.
- How popular is the name Sally?
- In 2025, 31 girls born in England and Wales were named Sally, ranking 1,079th. Its peak was 1996, with 309 births.
- What are nicknames for Sally?
- Common nicknames for Sally include Sal, Saz.
- Is Sally a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 100% of the 205,876 US babies named Sally since 1880 were girls.
- When was Sally most popular?
- 1947 in the United States, when 5,265 babies were named Sally, its highest rank at 70th.
- How do you pronounce Sally?
- Sally is /ˈsæl.i/, 2 syllables.
- What are other spellings of Sally?
- Sallie.
- Is Sally also a surname?
- Yes. Sally is used as a surname as well as a first name; its surname page has the origin and how many people carry it.