Given name & surname
Sidney
“from the wide meadow”
Sidney is a surname-derived name with more than one proposed place-name origin.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the wide meadow.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
The poet and soldier Philip Sidney belongs to the surname’s history. Dickens’s Sydney Carton supplies a later literary association through the variant spelling Sydney, which may have encouraged nineteenth-century given-name use.
Sidney through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 108,987
- 84,202 boys · 24,785 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 1,939 babies
- 2025
- 251
- #1,327 for boys · #1,878 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −25%
- Easing
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 49% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 146 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,327 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 16.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,879 in 1918. It also appeared in 105 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (14). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 53,874 as a first name in 2020; 2,043 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.
Sidney’s family of names
In English usage, Sidney has a diminutive in Sid. In English usage, Sidney has an alternative spelling in Sydney. In English usage, Sidney has a related form in Sydney.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Sidney has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 19
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
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.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Sidney
- Sidney PoitierBahamian and American actor and diplomat (1927–2022)
- Sidney LumetAmerican director, producer and screenwriter (1924–2011)
- Sidney SheldonAmerican writer (1917–2007)
- Sidney AltmanCanadian American molecular biologist (1939-2022)
- Sidney GovouFrench footballer (born 1979)
- Sidney CrosbyCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1987
- Sidney SonninoItalian politician (1847–1922)
- Sidney BechetAmerican jazz musician1897–1959
- Sidney Webb, 1st Baron PassfieldEnglish socialist economist, 1859–1947 (1859–1947)
Characters named Sidney: Sidney Prescott (the Scream franchise).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Sidney, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Merrill
“of the shining sea”
51% boys · 49% girls
Garnet
“resembling the dark-red gem”
33% boys · 67% girls
Ollie
“of the olive tree; one who is peaceful” · “olive tree”
66% boys · 34% girls
Everette
“as strong as a boar; as brave as a boar”
73% boys · 27% girls
Arley
“from the hare's meadow”
68% boys · 32% girls
Jessie
“gift” · “God exists; a gift from God; God sees all”
31% boys · 69% girls
Merlyn
Merlyn is a variant of Merlin. One Welsh interpretation is “of the sea fortress; in Arthurian legend, the wizard and mentor of King Arthur.”
31% boys · 69% girls
Jean
“God is gracious”
66% boys · 34% girls