girl's name
Sally
SAL-ee
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 211,967
Ireland
#242
2025 births
Sally is a girl's name meaning princess, a pet form of Sarah reached by medieval rhyming. Ireland gives it much its strongest position at 242nd, well ahead of the United States where it peaked.
- Sally is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1947, when 5,279 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 16,494 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Sally over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,010 |
| 1890s | 1,668 |
| 1900s | 3,294 |
| 1910s | 9,338 |
| 1920s | 13,533 |
| 1930s | 34,838 |
| 1940s | 45,495 |
| 1950s | 46,805 |
| 1960s | 24,422 |
| 1970s | 9,305 |
| 1980s | 6,143 |
| 1990s | 4,183 |
| 2000s | 2,582 |
| 2010s | 2,095 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,165 |
What Sally means
Sally means princess or noblewoman, carried from Sarah. The Hebrew word names rank directly, so the sense is a woman of standing rather than a quality of character.
Where Sally comes from
Sally comes from Sarah by the same medieval English rhyming that produced Peggy from Margaret and Bob from Rob: Sarah gave Sadie and Sally, with the r softening to an l. Sarah is the Hebrew Sarah, a princess or noblewoman, and in Genesis she is renamed from Sarai when the covenant is made. Sally has a second life as a word — a sally is a sudden rush out from a besieged position, from the French saillir, to leap — which is unrelated, and gives the sally port that a garrison attacks from.
Sally in use
Sally peaked in the United States in 1947, when 5,279 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 242nd in Ireland on 18 births — much its strongest market — alongside 372nd in Northern Ireland, 1087th in England and Wales on 31, 1152nd in the United States on 201 and 2100th in France, across 211,967 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Sally?
In 2025, Sally was given to 201 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Sally is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Sally
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Sally also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Sally over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sally in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Sally
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Sally — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Sally
What does the name Sally mean?
Princess, carried from Sarah.
Why is Sally short for Sarah?
Medieval English rhyming softened the r to an l — the same process that made Peggy from Margaret.
Is a sally port related?
No. That sally comes from the French saillir, to leap, and means a rush out from a besieged position.
How popular is Sally?
242nd in Ireland, its strongest market, and 1152nd in the United States.
Is Sally a girl's or a boy's name?
Sally is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Sally?
Sally has 2 syllables.
Is Sally a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Sally currently ranks #242 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.