Sally
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Meaning
princess (short form of Sarah); famously borne by Sally Ride, physicist and the first American woman in space
The story
Sally began as a nursery transformation of Sarah, the Hebrew princess, in the same playful English habit that turned Mary into Molly, and by the eighteenth century it stood as a name in its own right. Americans made it a mid-century darling: the chart below climbs to its best stretch from the 1930s through the 1950s, the era of Sally as the friendly girl next door, then drifts gently down. The bearer who reframed it is Sally Ride, the physicist who flew on the shuttle Challenger in 1983 and became the first American woman in space, batting away absurd press questions with unbothered calm and spending her later years pulling girls toward science. Sally today reads warm and slightly retro, a cheerful, freckled classic with a spacecraft hidden in its history.
The formal names behind Sally
Sally is an established short form of this name.
Sarah · Hebrew origin · princess
Sally's name family
One shared root links 5 names across 2 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew sarah "princess", the matriarch renamed from Sarai
The constellation
More branches
Sally in song
Long Tall Sally
Little Richard (1956)
Two minutes and ten seconds at a dead sprint. Little Richard and producer Bumps Blackwell built it to be too fast for Pat Boone's polite cover versions to keep up with. Boone recorded it anyway.
Mustang Sally
Wilson Pickett (1966)
A man buys his girl a new car and immediately regrets it, and Wilson Pickett's version has been the last call at bar bands ever since.
How popular is Sally around the world?
In the United States, 1,165 babies were named Sally between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 18 girls named Sally were born in 2025, the 239th most common name among girls that year.
Sally is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, South Australia, England and Wales, Austria, Canada, France, Mexico City, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 19,000
In the United States, 1,165 babies were named Sally between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Sally peaked in the 1930s and the 1950s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 3,000
In Ireland, 18 girls named Sally were born in 2025, the 239th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Sally in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 19,000
In England and Wales, 31 girls named Sally were born in 2025, ranked 1,079th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
1 in 25,000
In Austria, 3 girls named Sally were born in 2025, ranked 1,026th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Canada
1 in 28,000
In Canada, 13 girls named Sally were born in 2024, ranked 1,709th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
France
1 in 43,000
In France, about 15 girls named Sally were born in 2025, ranked 2,192nd among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Mexico City City
1 in 59,000
In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Sally in 2022.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 170,000
In Spain, 258 residents are named Sally, ranked 3,682nd among women, with a mean age of 43 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 285 people in Brazil were named Sally, ranked 19,766th, with a median age of 34.
Among people named Sally living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Argentina
last on record 2014
Sally is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Chile
last on record 2018
Sally is not on the 2021 record for Chile, where nametree keeps the spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Montevideo City
last on record 2007
Sally is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Sally is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2007
Sally is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Norway
last on record 2023
Sally is not on the 2025 record for Norway, where names carried by fewer than 4 people in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Poland
last on record 2015
Sally is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Scotland
last on record 2021
Sally is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
When you meet Sally
Most people given the name Sally in the United States were born between 1940 and 1979. The Sally you meet today is most often in her 60s or 70s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names of explorers and adventurers · Names of geniuses and inventors
The Sally deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Sally truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Sally fits with your family’s names and surname.
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