Sally
Sally or Sallie is an English language feminine given name that originated as a hypocorism for Sarah. Young children often have difficulty in pronouncing the letter r, which resulted in nicknames like Sally that substitute the letter r for l. Other examples include Dolly for Dorothy, Hallie for Harriet, Lolly for Laura, and Molly or Polly for Mary.
- English
Meaning & Origin of Sally
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Sally or Sallie is an English language feminine given name that originated as a hypocorism for Sarah. Young children often have difficulty in pronouncing the letter r, which resulted in nicknames like Sally that substitute the letter r for l. Other examples include Dolly for Dorothy, Hallie for Harriet, Lolly for Laura, and Molly or Polly for Mary.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Sally
Sally first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 80 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1947: 5,265 births, good for #70 nationwide. About 23% of every Sally on record arrived during the 1950s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Sally ranks #1,163 for baby girls with 206 births, holding steady (-1%). All told, over 205K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Sally
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Sally. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Notable people named Sally
A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.
- Sally Amaki , American singer based in Japan
- Sally Armstrong (journalist) (born 1943), Canadian journalist, documentary filmmaker and human rights activist
- Sally Baddock , New Zealand academic in the field of midwifery
- Sally Barrington , British oncologist and medical researcher
- Sally Barton (born 1957), Gibraltar cricketer
- Sally Belfrage (1936–1994), United States–born British-based 20th century nonfiction writer and international journalist
- Sally Anne Bowman (1987–2005), British murder victim
- Sally Boyden (cyclist) (born 1967), British track and road racing cyclist
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Names that sound like Sally
Phonetically similar names — useful when Sally is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sally
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About the name Sally
Sally is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 205K births in the dataset. Sally's peak popularity came in 1947 when it ranked #52. Use the chart and map above to compare Sally's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1947 →
- Names of the 1940s →
- Names starting with "S" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.