Girls' name · since 1880
Sally
Sally has 205,229 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1947 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #198 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,150 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 205,229
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Yes -- Sally is the #1150 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 205,229 recorded since 1880.
Sally has 205,229 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1150 as of the latest data, more common than 93% of girls, busiest in the 1950s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #198 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,150 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 205,229 born since 1880
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Sally ranks #198 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,150 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 205,229 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.
- #198 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,150 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 205,229
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Sally's 205,229 recorded births place it above 99.72% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Sally compares
205,229 Top 2% higher than 98% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Sally's all-time total is 546x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Sally | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 205,229 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 5,265 | 21 | 19,840 |
Sally's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Sally's full recorded timeline at 1953, 40% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 60% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1883, with just 73 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1947 peak of 5,265 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Sally popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1947)
- 5,265
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Sally popularity over time - boys
647 total births recorded since 1913 (Sally as boys' name)
Sally by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (46,706 births, 23% of the file).
1950s was Sally's strongest decade.
46,706 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.
Sally births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 1,010
1880s
1,010 births
- 1890s 1,668
1890s
1,668 births
- 1900s 3,294
1900s
3,294 births
- 1910s 9,301
1910s
9,301 births
- 1920s 13,472
1920s
13,472 births
- 1930s
1930s
34,680 births
- 1940s
1940s
45,344 births
- 1950s
1950s
46,706 births
- 1960s
1960s
24,344 births
- 1970s 9,275
1970s
9,275 births
- 1980s 6,127
1980s
6,127 births
- 1990s 4,166
1990s
4,166 births
- 2000s 2,582
2000s
2,582 births
- 2010s 2,095
2010s
2,095 births
- 2020s 1,165
2020s
1,165 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 46,706 births (23% of all-time use).
How Sally compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Sally's total volume
Sally by state
Where Sally concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 17,913 | 8.7% |
| #2 | California | | 17,140 | 8.4% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 14,767 | 7.2% |
| #4 | Michigan | | 13,768 | 6.7% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 12,796 | 6.2% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 10,917 | 5.3% |
| #7 | Texas | | 8,948 | 4.4% |
| #8 | Wisconsin | | 6,411 | 3.1% |
17,913 of 205,229 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Sally appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Sally? ▼
Where does Sally sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Sally most popular? ▼
Where is Sally most popular? ▼
How long has the name Sally been used? ▼
What names are similar to Sally? ▼
What to do with Sally's data
- Sally's decade-level peak was the 1950s (46,706 total births); usage has since declined to 1,165 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Sallys (17,913 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Sally
Nearby Names Like Sally
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Sally
Compare Sally side by side: Sally vs Sallie Sally vs Salma Sally vs Salina
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Sally
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Sally: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1947)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Sally draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.