girls' name ★ peaked 1947

Sally

Meaning A diminutive lambdacism of Sarah Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,158 Trend ↑ Rising 11%

A diminutive lambdacism of Sarah.

Rank 2025
#1,158
among girls · ↓62 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
201
named Sally · -11% vs 2024
How common
1 in 7,996
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1947
5,279 babies
All-time total
205,876
#198 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Sally popularity over time

205,876 babies have been named Sally since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.252.53.75518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 1,010 – 1,010 101 – #165
1890s 1,668 – 1,668 167 +65% #193
1900s 3,294 – 3,294 329 +97% #152
1910s 9,301 37 9,338 934 +183% #136
1920s 13,472 61 13,533 1,353 +45% #112
1930s 34,680 158 34,838 3,484 +157% #52
1940s 45,344 151 45,495 4,550 +31% #56
1950s 46,706 99 46,805 4,681 +3% #77
1960s 24,344 78 24,422 2,442 -48% #123
1970s 9,275 30 9,305 931 -62% #249
1980s 6,127 16 6,143 614 -34% #327
1990s 4,166 17 4,183 418 -32% #450
2000s 2,582 – 2,582 258 -38% #705
2010s 2,095 – 2,095 210 -19% #1,053
2020s (to 2025) 1,165 – 1,165 194 -7% #1,096

Where Sally is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 205 0.13 outside top 500
2027 208 0.13 outside top 500
2028 211 0.13 outside top 500
2029 214 0.13 outside top 500
2030 216 0.13 outside top 500

Where Sally is most popular

Girls named Sally per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.119 per 1,000. Strongest in Utah, Alabama, and Idaho.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Sally born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Utah 23 0.276 +132%
Alabama 25 0.266 +124%
Idaho 7 0.209 +76%
Colorado 23 0.206 +73%
North Carolina 45 0.198 +66%
Virginia 33 0.194 +63%
Arkansas 10 0.189 +59%
Georgia 41 0.180 +52%
Washington 24 0.166 +40%
Pennsylvania 38 0.161 +35%
Kentucky 13 0.152 +28%
New York 60 0.152 +27%
Tennessee 24 0.151 +27%
Massachusetts 14 0.116 ≈ national
California 97 0.115 ≈ national
Illinois 25 0.109 -8%
Texas 86 0.107 -10%
Mississippi 5 0.107 -10%
Ohio 24 0.101 -15%
Oklahoma 7 0.095 -20%
Oregon 6 0.092 -23%
Michigan 14 0.077 -35%
Maryland 7 0.066 -44%
Louisiana 5 0.057 -52%
Minnesota 6 0.056 -53%
Florida 21 0.049 -59%
Missouri 5 0.041 -65%
New Jersey 7 0.039 -67%
Arizona 5 0.036 -70%
Indiana 5 0.036 -70%
Alaska – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Kansas – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Sally

Sally is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,158 in 2025 with 201 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 205,876 American babies have been named Sally. Its peak came in 1947, when 5,279 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Sally stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Sally?

The median living Sally is about 70 years old; half are between 60 and 78. An estimated 125 thousand people named Sally are alive in the United States today.

median 70 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Sally year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 201 #1,158 – –
2024 225 #1,096 – –
2023 171 #1,329 – –
2022 176 #1,340 – –
2021 192 #1,228 – –
2020 200 #1,169 – –
2019 161 #1,402 – –
2018 195 #1,212 – –
2017 245 #1,053 – –
2016 211 #1,187 – –
2015 222 #1,141 – –
2014 209 #1,177 – –
2013 218 #1,120 – –
2012 208 #1,186 – –
2011 212 #1,159 – –
2010 214 #1,145 – –
2009 227 #1,120 – –
2008 227 #1,136 – –
2007 253 #1,043 – –
2006 244 #1,053 – –
2005 244 #1,003 – –
2004 265 #917 – –
2003 226 #1,023 – –
2002 263 #871 – –
2001 301 #787 – –
2000 332 #705 – –
1995 390 #586 – –
1990 549 #450 6 #7,936
1985 567 #399 – –
1980 740 #327 6 #6,108
1975 949 #256 7 #4,699
1970 1,247 #249 9 #3,478
1965 2,318 #162 8 #3,202
1960 3,754 #123 12 #2,519
1955 4,688 #95 10 #2,727
1950 4,870 #78 6 #3,627
1945 3,982 #64 – –
1940 3,803 #61 20 #1,560
1935 3,711 #58 15 #1,907
1930 2,542 #98 14 #2,157
1925 1,310 #173 7 #3,683
1920 958 #203 7 #3,765
1915 1,121 #163 6 #3,763
1910 553 #147 – –
1905 303 #173 – –
1900 287 #183 – –
1895 162 #214 – –
1890 154 #193 – –
1885 107 #179 – –
1880 80 #166 – –

Famous people named Sally

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Sally Field Sally Field American actress (born 1946) Contemporary
  2. 2 Sally Hawkins Sally Hawkins British actress (born 1976) Contemporary
  3. 3 Sally Struthers Sally Struthers American actress and activist (born 1947) Contemporary
  4. 4 Sally Ride Sally Ride American physicist and astronaut (1951–2012) Contemporary
  5. 5 Sally Hemings Slave of Thomas Jefferson (c. 1773–1835) 18th century
  6. 6 Sally Kirkland Sally Kirkland American actress and producer (1941–2025) Contemporary
  7. 7 Sally Rooney Sally Rooney Irish author (born 1991) Contemporary
  8. 8 Sally Kellerman Sally Kellerman American actress (1937–2022) Contemporary
  9. 9 Sally Mann Sally Mann American photographer (born 1951) Contemporary
  10. 10 Sally Menke American film editor (1953–2010) Contemporary
  11. 11 Sally Gunnell Sally Gunnell British track-and-field athlete b. 1966 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Sally Yeh Sally Yeh Hong Kong and Canadian singer and actress b. 1961 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Sally Rand Sally Rand American burlesque performer and actress (1904–1979) Contemporary
  14. 14 Sally Yates Sally Yates American attorney (born 1960) Contemporary
  15. 15 Sally Oldfield Irish singer-songwriter b. 1947 · Contemporary
  16. 16 Sally Potter Sally Potter English film director and screenwriter (born 1949) Contemporary
  17. 17 Sally Pearson Sally Pearson Australian athlete (born 1986) Contemporary
  18. 18 Sally Jewell Sally Jewell 51st United States Secretary of the Interior b. 1956 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Sally Kipyego Sally Kipyego Kenyan-born American long- and middle-distance runner b. 1985 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Sally, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Sally?

The median living Sally is about 70 years old. Half of all living Sallys are between 60 and 78 years old.

How many people named Sally are alive today?

An estimated 125 thousand people named Sally are alive in the United States, based on 205,876 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Sally mean?

A diminutive lambdacism of Sarah.

How popular is the name Sally in 2025?

Sally ranked #1,158 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 201 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Sally?

205,876 babies have been named Sally in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Sally most popular?

Sally peaked in 1947, when 5,279 newborns received the name.

Is Sally a boy or girl name?

Sally is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Sally rising or falling?

Sally has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Sally become more popular?

Sally is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 216 girls named Sally in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Sally?

Well-known people named Sally include Sally Field (actor), Sally Hawkins (actor), Sally Struthers (actor).

Names like Sally

Names that sound and feel close to Sally: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Sally with similar names → More names starting with S →