Girl · Old English
Sydney
Say it: SID-nee
Meaning
From the English surname Sidney, usually from Old English sīd 'wide' and ēg 'island, riverside land'; the derivation from Saint-Denis in France is a later invention.
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
A boys' name for most of its history, it became popular for American girls in the 1990s.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 2000s
In the United States
- 182,122 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 2000, about 1 in 177 girls
- 1,265 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Sidney, Sydnee, Sydnie
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.