girl's name
Sydney
SID-nee
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 210,792
the United States
#348
2025 births
Sydney is a name from a French place name — Saint-Denis, contracted by English speakers — and the Australian city was named after a man who bore it. About 94 percent of the births in our records are female.
- Sydney is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2000, when 10,369 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,713 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Sydney started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Sydney 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 | 151 |
| 1890s | 184 |
| 1900s | 299 |
| 1910s | 1,706 |
| 1920s | 1,615 |
| 1930s | 1,625 |
| 1940s | 2,327 |
| 1950s | 2,153 |
| 1960s | 1,850 |
| 1970s | 1,285 |
| 1980s | 5,044 |
| 1990s | 56,774 |
| 2000s | 77,288 |
| 2010s | 28,590 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,809 |
What Sydney means
Sydney means from Saint-Denis, a place in Normandy. The saint's own name means a follower of Dionysus, so the name traces back to a Greek god of wine.
Where Sydney comes from
Sydney is generally derived from Saint-Denis in Normandy, contracted in English mouths to Sidney over centuries — the same compression that turned Saint-Omer into Semmer. Denis is Dionysius, of Dionysus, so the chain runs from a Greek wine god through a beheaded bishop of Paris to a Norman village to an English surname. Thomas Townshend, first Viscount Sydney, was Home Secretary when the First Fleet sailed in 1788, and the new settlement was named for him. Its use as a girls' name is American and late twentieth-century.
Sydney in use
Sydney peaked in the United States in 2000, when 10,369 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in all seven markets — 239th in Canada, 296th in England and Wales on 173 births, 348th in the United States on 893, 379th in Scotland on 9, 482nd in Northern Ireland, 838th in Ireland and 1729th in France — across 210,792 lifetime births. About 94 percent of recorded births are female, and England and Wales now places it above the United States.
How popular is Sydney?
In 2025, Sydney was given to 893 babies in the United States, ranking #348 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Sydney 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 Sydney
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Sydney also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Sydney over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Sydney
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Sydney 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 Sydney
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Sydney — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Sydney
What does the name Sydney mean?
From Saint-Denis in Normandy — and Denis means a follower of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.
Is Sydney named after the Australian city?
The other way round. The city was named for Viscount Sydney, Home Secretary when the First Fleet sailed in 1788.
Is it Sydney or Sidney?
Sidney is the older surname spelling and more often male; Sydney is the girls' spelling and the city's.
Is Sydney a girls' name?
About 94 percent of the births in our records are female.
How popular is the name Sydney?
In 2025, Sydney was given to 893 babies in the United States, ranking #348 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Sydney?
Sydney has 2 syllables.
When was Sydney most popular?
Sydney peaked in 2000, when 10,369 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Sydney?
Sydney is usually shortened to Syd.
Is Sydney a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Sydney currently ranks #239 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.