Sally
Sally was given to 201 girls in 2025, #1,158 among girls’ names; 205,876 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 117,000 Americans named Sally and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (57% of everyone recorded); the median is 70 years old and half are between 60 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Sally by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Sally mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Sally is “a diminutive of the female given name Sarah, also used as a formal given name.”
A diminutive lambdacism of Sarah. Compare Hal from Harry and Moll from Mary.
/ˈsæl.i/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Sally?
#1,158 among girls’ names, 2025
Sally fell from #1,141 in 2015 to #1,158 in 2025 among girls’ names, although its share of girls born rose from 0.12 to 0.13 per 1,000.
5,279 babies in 1947, the peak
Sally peaked in 1947, when 5,279 babies were given it (5,265 girls, #70 among girls’ names). The 201 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 201 | #1,158 | 0.13 |
| 2024 | 225 | #1,096 | 0.14 |
| 2023 | 171 | #1,329 | 0.11 |
| 2022 | 176 | #1,340 | 0.11 |
| 2021 | 192 | #1,228 | 0.12 |
| 2020 | 200 | #1,169 | 0.12 |
| 2019 | 161 | #1,402 | 0.10 |
| 2018 | 195 | #1,212 | 0.11 |
| 2017 | 245 | #1,053 | 0.14 |
| 2016 | 211 | #1,187 | 0.12 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 222 | #1,141 | 0.12 |
| 2014 | 209 | #1,177 | 0.12 |
| 2013 | 218 | #1,120 | 0.12 |
| 2012 | 208 | #1,186 | 0.12 |
| 2011 | 212 | #1,159 | 0.12 |
| 2010 | 214 | #1,145 | 0.12 |
| 2009 | 227 | #1,120 | 0.12 |
| 2008 | 227 | #1,136 | 0.12 |
| 2007 | 253 | #1,043 | 0.13 |
| 2006 | 244 | #1,053 | 0.13 |
| 2005 | 244 | #1,003 | 0.13 |
| 2004 | 265 | #917 | 0.14 |
| 2003 | 226 | #1,022 | 0.12 |
| 2002 | 263 | #871 | 0.15 |
| 2001 | 301 | #787 | 0.17 |
| 2000 | 332 | #705 | 0.18 |
| 1999 | 327 | #689 | 0.18 |
| 1998 | 328 | #691 | 0.19 |
| 1997 | 337 | #656 | 0.19 |
| 1996 | 365 | #624 | 0.21 |
| 1995 | 390 | #586 | 0.22 |
| 1994 | 399 | #576 | 0.22 |
| 1993 | 445 | #538 | 0.25 |
| 1992 | 496 | #495 | 0.27 |
| 1991 | 530 | #462 | 0.28 |
| 1990 | 549 | #449 | 0.29 |
| 1989 | 536 | #453 | 0.29 |
| 1988 | 543 | #428 | 0.30 |
| 1987 | 528 | #424 | 0.30 |
| 1986 | 592 | #390 | 0.35 |
| 1985 | 567 | #399 | 0.33 |
| 1984 | 615 | #372 | 0.37 |
| 1983 | 660 | #345 | 0.40 |
| 1982 | 633 | #367 | 0.37 |
| 1981 | 713 | #334 | 0.43 |
| 1980 | 740 | #327 | 0.45 |
| 1979 | 735 | #321 | 0.46 |
| 1978 | 779 | #296 | 0.51 |
| 1977 | 789 | #304 | 0.51 |
| 1976 | 899 | #264 | 0.61 |
| 1975 | 949 | #256 | 0.65 |
| 1974 | 957 | #265 | 0.65 |
| 1973 | 951 | #262 | 0.65 |
| 1972 | 908 | #283 | 0.60 |
| 1971 | 1,061 | #272 | 0.64 |
| 1970 | 1,247 | #249 | 0.71 |
| 1969 | 1,309 | #231 | 0.78 |
| 1968 | 1,402 | #216 | 0.85 |
| 1967 | 1,638 | #193 | 1.0 |
| 1966 | 1,834 | #179 | 1.1 |
| 1965 | 2,318 | #162 | 1.3 |
| 1964 | 2,708 | #149 | 1.4 |
| 1963 | 2,744 | #147 | 1.4 |
| 1962 | 3,175 | #136 | 1.6 |
| 1961 | 3,462 | #133 | 1.7 |
| 1960 | 3,754 | #123 | 1.9 |
| 1959 | 4,068 | #114 | 2.0 |
| 1958 | 4,305 | #112 | 2.1 |
| 1957 | 3,993 | #115 | 2.0 |
| 1956 | 4,346 | #105 | 2.2 |
| 1955 | 4,688 | #95 | 2.4 |
| 1954 | 5,078 | #84 | 2.6 |
| 1953 | 5,183 | #81 | 2.8 |
| 1952 | 5,037 | #81 | 2.7 |
| 1951 | 5,138 | #77 | 2.9 |
| 1950 | 4,870 | #78 | 2.8 |
| 1949 | 4,773 | #77 | 2.8 |
| 1948 | 5,012 | #72 | 3.0 |
| 1947 | 5,265 | #70 | 3.0 |
| 1946 | 4,842 | #67 | 3.1 |
| 1945 | 3,982 | #64 | 3.0 |
| 1944 | 4,388 | #59 | 3.3 |
| 1943 | 4,659 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1942 | 4,655 | #56 | 3.4 |
| 1941 | 3,965 | #61 | 3.3 |
| 1940 | 3,803 | #61 | 3.3 |
| 1939 | 4,244 | #52 | 3.9 |
| 1938 | 4,278 | #54 | 3.9 |
| 1937 | 3,925 | #59 | 3.7 |
| 1936 | 3,635 | #59 | 3.5 |
| 1935 | 3,711 | #58 | 3.5 |
| 1934 | 3,725 | #62 | 3.6 |
| 1933 | 3,146 | #76 | 3.1 |
| 1932 | 2,917 | #84 | 2.7 |
| 1931 | 2,557 | #97 | 2.4 |
| 1930 | 2,542 | #98 | 2.3 |
| 1929 | 2,212 | #112 | 2.0 |
| 1928 | 1,891 | #128 | 1.6 |
| 1927 | 1,630 | #147 | 1.4 |
| 1926 | 1,464 | #160 | 1.2 |
| 1925 | 1,310 | #173 | 1.1 |
| 1924 | 1,145 | #190 | 0.92 |
| 1923 | 999 | #201 | 0.83 |
| 1922 | 972 | #204 | 0.81 |
| 1921 | 891 | #214 | 0.72 |
| 1920 | 958 | #203 | 0.80 |
| 1919 | 991 | #192 | 0.88 |
| 1918 | 1,086 | #184 | 0.94 |
| 1917 | 1,029 | #184 | 1.0 |
| 1916 | 1,221 | #162 | 1.2 |
| 1915 | 1,121 | #163 | 1.1 |
| 1914 | 1,065 | #139 | 1.4 |
| 1913 | 879 | #138 | 1.4 |
| 1912 | 821 | #136 | 1.5 |
| 1911 | 535 | #151 | 1.3 |
| 1910 | 553 | #147 | 1.4 |
| 1909 | 470 | #152 | 1.4 |
| 1908 | 443 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1907 | 387 | #162 | 1.2 |
| 1906 | 358 | #161 | 1.2 |
| 1905 | 303 | #173 | 1.0 |
| 1904 | 278 | #176 | 1.0 |
| 1903 | 288 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1902 | 266 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1901 | 214 | #196 | 0.89 |
| 1900 | 287 | #183 | 1.0 |
| 1899 | 185 | #203 | 0.79 |
| 1898 | 199 | #206 | 0.77 |
| 1897 | 206 | #193 | 0.88 |
| 1896 | 185 | #206 | 0.78 |
| 1895 | 162 | #214 | 0.69 |
| 1894 | 168 | #206 | 0.75 |
| 1893 | 134 | #226 | 0.63 |
| 1892 | 160 | #199 | 0.75 |
| 1891 | 115 | #225 | 0.62 |
| 1890 | 154 | #193 | 0.81 |
| 1889 | 123 | #207 | 0.69 |
| 1888 | 142 | #189 | 0.79 |
| 1887 | 112 | #189 | 0.77 |
| 1886 | 104 | #194 | 0.72 |
| 1885 | 107 | #179 | 0.80 |
| 1884 | 95 | #186 | 0.74 |
| 1883 | 73 | #203 | 0.65 |
| 1882 | 95 | #165 | 0.88 |
| 1881 | 79 | #170 | 0.86 |
| 1880 | 80 | #166 | 0.88 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Sally a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Sally has been given almost only to girls: 647 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Sally: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Sally, and how old are they?
117,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 57% of the 205,876 Americans ever recorded as Sally. The median Sally alive today is 70 years old; half are between 60 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 139,332 people named Sally (139,095 women and girls, 237 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 134,497 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 21,300 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 63,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 17,100 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 8,340 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,160 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,610 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Sally born?
The states with the most babies named Sally are New York, California and Pennsylvania, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 17,913 | #1,076 | 1.0× |
| California | 17,145 | #1,469 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 14,767 | #1,368 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 13,773 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Ohio | 12,796 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 10,917 | #1,216 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 8,948 | #1,697 | 0.7× |
| Wisconsin | 6,411 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Massachusetts | 6,008 | #611 | 1.0× |
| Indiana | 5,629 | #1,178 | 1.1× |
Where Sally is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Sally is most over-represented in Michigan: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Sally with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 259,999 babies since 1880, Sally is the most given (79% of them). In 2025 it was given to 201 of their 367 babies (55%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Sally
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Sally and names like it
- Compare Sally and SallieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sSally peaked in 1947.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Sally since 1910.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Sally.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Sally alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with SMost given first.