Given name & surname
Sally
“princess; lady”·“princess”
In English use, Sally is a diminutive of Sarah. Sarah means “princess” in Hebrew.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Sally carries the interpretation “princess; lady.” In English use, Sally is a diminutive of Sarah. Sarah means “princess” in Hebrew.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
Sally is used as a form of Sarah. In English use, Sally is a diminutive of Sarah. The shared background comes through Sarah: In the biblical account, Sarai is renamed Sarah as part of a blessing. Later Irish and Scottish uses sometimes adopted Sarah in place of local Gaelic names, a separate practice from its Hebrew origin.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Sally is a diminutive of Sarah. The history of Sarah gives this family its wider story. Sarah is remembered in Genesis as Abraham’s wife and Isaac’s mother. Sarah’s later local adaptations included use for Sorcha in Ireland and Mor in Scotland, showing how an established biblical name could serve different naming traditions.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Sally through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 205,876
- 647 boys · 205,229 girls
- Most popular year
- 1947
- 5,279 babies
- 2025
- 201
- #1,158 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −5%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 201 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,158 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 4.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 5,265 in 1947. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (16). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 139,332 as a first name in 2020; 1,241 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Sally’s family of names
In English usage, Sally is a diminutive of Sarah. In English usage, Sally has a conventional equivalent in the German form Sara. In English usage, Sally is an affectionate form of Sarah.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Sally has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 40
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Sarahfull form · English
- Sallievariant
- Saldiminutive · English
- Saleahvariant
- Saliavariant
- Sailyvariant
- Saileyvariant
- Sallivariant · French, Finnish
Show 32 moreShow fewer
- Salivariant
- Salyvariant
- Sallyevariant
- Saleighvariant
- Saleavariant
- Saileevariant
- Saliahvariant
- Salleevariant
- Salleyvariant
- Sallyylikely variant
- Saznickname · English
- Salyevariant
- Salyahvariant
- Salyavariant
- Sallyahvariant
- Sallyavariant
- Salleivariant
- Salleahvariant
- Salleavariant
- Saleyvariant
- Saleivariant
- Saleevariant
- Salaidvariant
- Sailievariant
- Sailiavariant
- Sailivariant
- Saileighvariant
- Salliahvariant
- Salliavariant
- Salieevariant
- Salievariant
- Salleighvariant
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Sally
- Sally FieldAmerican actressborn 1946
- Sally RideAmerican astronaut and physicist (1951–2012)
- Sally HawkinsEnglish actress (1976–)
- Sally RooneyIrish authorborn 1991
- Sally KellermanAmerican actress (1937–2022)
- Sally PearsonAustralian short-distance runner and hurdlerborn 1986
- Sally KirklandAmerican actress, film producer, and activist (1941–2025)
- Sally PotterEnglish film director and screenwriter (born 1949)
- Sally GunnellBritish former track and field athleteborn 1966
Characters named Sally: Sally Forth (American comic strip by Wally Wood), Sally Hardesty (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Bluebird (Marvel Comics), Sally Bowles (character created by writer Christopher Isherwood and popularized by the musical ''Cabaret''.).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Sally, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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