US Name Trends

Sidney

An English surname from Saint-Denis in France, later read as Old English “wide island”; the Australian city carries the same name.

1918peak year
No. 80best rank (1912)
108,987babies since 1880
outside top 1000 in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Sidney per year — peak 1,879▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Sidney appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in 17 different years between 1880 and 1919. Its biggest year was 1918, when 1,879 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 94 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1912, at No. 80. The name has also seen real use for girls: 24,785 of the 108,987 Americans given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Sydney (187,700), Sydnee (8,255), Sydni (5,361), Sydnie (5,187), Cydney (5,170), Cydnee (953) (total births since 1880)

Other names that share a story: Pamela, Stella

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By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1880s1,505No. 86
1890s1,612No. 100
1900s1,981No. 101
1910s12,793No. 80
1920s14,201No. 107
1930s9,420No. 150
1940s9,608No. 169
1950s9,632No. 195
1960s6,844No. 271
1970s3,817No. 361
1980s3,333No. 440
1990s3,829No. 503
2000s2,729No. 593
2010s1,991No. 827
2020s907No. 1160

Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.

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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.