The baby name Sally has been poised on the edge of a comeback for years. The latest possible reason to think we’ll hear more of this retro, sparky name? A song title.
Our Baby Name of the Day honors the person who helped me set up my very first blog, over twenty years ago.
WHAT DOES THE NAME SALLY MEAN?
The baby name Sarah comes from the Old Testament. In Hebrew, it means princess. (Or possibly lady or noblewoman.) She’s all of 90 years young, and has never had a child of her own. But then there’s a miracle, and she and husband Abraham welcome a son called Isaac.
The mother of Isaac was born Sarai. As often happened in Biblical times, the favor of God necessitated a change of name. Abram became Abraham, and the wife of Abraham became Sarah.
The result? A classic choice, used across centuries and languages, partially inspired by the Biblical figure.
The name was particularly popular in the United States. Sarah has enjoyed consistent popularity, always ranking the Top 100 and charting in the Top Ten from 1978 through 2024.
History gives us actresses and writers, politicians and poets, and even more notable women by the name.
It’s no wonder that Sarah has nicknames aplenty. Sadie is now a Top 100 name it its own right.
NICKNAME NAME
What about Sally? How is a form of Sarah?
Plenty of names swapped their R sound for an L over the years:
- Mary became Molly.
- Harold shortened to Hal.
- And Sarah became Sal, Sallie, and Sally.
We don’t know how many Sarahs preferred the nickname Sally, but we do find some.
For example, there’s Sally Wister’s Journal, penned by a young Sarah-called-Sally living in Philadelphia during the British occupation in 1777.
FAMOUS WOMEN NAMED SALLY
Let’s stick with the 18th century for a minute.
Sally Hemings, born enslaved, moved to the Monticello estate in Virginia. Her story is complicated, but we know without doubt that Hemings’ children were fathered by US president Thomas Jefferson.
She remains among the most famous of Sallys.
20th CENTURY SALLYS
Fast forward to the twentieth century. In 1929, when the four Warner Brothers were still at the helm of their fledgling studio, Sally became the sixth color film they released. Ziegfield Follies alum Marilyn Miller became a star in the title role on Broadway in 1920; for a record-setting salary, she did the same on the silver screen.
The character was an orphan named after the telephone exchange (think Pennsylvania 6-500) where she was abandoned as a baby. After some hi-jinks and romantic misunderstandings, all ends happily, with Sally fulfilling her dream of becoming a dancer.
And so the name began to climb:
- Born in 1937, actress Sally Kellerman is best remembered as Hot Lips Houlihan in the 1970 movie MASH.
- Talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael was born in 1942.
- Television star and Oscar-winning actressSally Field arrived in 1946.
- Fellow TV alum Sally Struthers was born a year later.
- 1951 gave us astronautSally Ride, the first American woman in space.
- In 1963, British actress Sally Whittaker was born – a mainstay staple on Coronation Street as Sally Webster.
SALLY IN FICTION
That leads us to more fictional bearers of the name:
- In 1959, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz used the name for Charlie’s little sister.
- Isaac Asimov’s short story “Sally” gave the name to a thinking car.
- On a lighter note, the name belongs to a 2002 Porsche 911 in Disney Pixar hit Cars. (Is it an Asimov nod? It must be!)
- Cabaret’s singer was Sally Bowles, as made famous by Liza Minneli.
- When Harry Met Sally featured Meg Ryan as the memorable, finicky Sally.
- There’s also little-girl-lost turned teenaged rebel on Mad Men.
And we can’t forget musical nods, including:
- Gracie Field’s “Sally,” used for her 1931 film debut Sally in Our Alley.
- The oft-recorded “Long Tall Sally,” made famous by Little Richard.
- Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally” from 1967.
- Eric Clapton’s 1977 “Lay Down Sally.”
It’s not in the title of the song, but in Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” the chorus is: And so Sally can wait/She knows its too late as we’re walking on by.
SALLY WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT
Speaking of music, Role Model scored a hit with “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” in 2025.
It’s a song that has plenty of pop culture currency. When Role Model performs the song live, someone gets to come on stage and play Sally. Sometimes it’s a fan, but often it’s a celebrity. Kate Hudson, Natalie Portman, and Renee Rapp have all appeared on stage. So have Conan Gray and Bowen Yang. Oh – and even Role Model’s mom, Susan.
SAL FOR A BOY
Worth noting: Sal is also a popular short form of several masculine names.
The Spanish and Portuguese Salvador is one possibility. So is Salvatore, an Italian heritage pick. It could even be a short form of Salomon, a spelling of Biblical name Solomon heard in several European languages.
That makes Sal potentially gender neutral. It might also make Sally the perfect name to honor a loved one with one of those names.
SALLY FORTH
The baby name Sally has a lot of spark. One more reason?
Ever heard the phrase “to sally forth”? It means to set out on adventure, from the French saillir via the Latin salire – to leap.
Sally Forth has been a character in two comic strips – the bawdy 1960s/70s eye candy in a military publication and later, a modern working mom.
THE POPULARITY OF THE NAME SALLY
The baby name Sally became a mid-20th century style star.
But from the year 1880, when US Social Security Administration data is first reported, through the 1910s, Sallie was the more popular spelling.
They’re both a diminutive of Sarah, of course – the spelling just shifted slightly.
It was Sally that climbed steadily into the US Top 100, remaining there from 1930 through 1955, reaching peak popularity at #52 in the year 1939.
Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, Sally followed a similar path. It peaked earlier in the 20th century in Australia and New Zealand, as well as England.
In the United States, Sally left the popularity charts after the year 2004.
As of 2024, 223 girls received the name. An additional 20 were named Sallie.
Those numbers put it just outside of the current US Top 1000. (As of 2024, it takes 257 births for a name to rank in the girls’ Top 1000.)
REVIVAL-READY SALLY
There’s been a steady drumbeat of women answering to Sally (and Sallie), from the Middle Ages to the present moment.
If you love Sadie and Ellie and Millie, but want something bright and unexpected, the baby name Sally is just waiting for rediscovery.
What do you think of the baby name Sally?
First published on July 29, 2010, this post was revised on August 14, 2025.
My name is Sally!
It’s definitely a name that everyone (in Australia, where I’m from) is familiar with and knows how to spell, and yet not super common like Sarah or Joanne or Jessica or Rebecca.
I never hated my name but didn’t love it as a school girl, have always actually loved it as an adult though.
I feel like it’s a happy, cheerful, easy name without pretense, and that it’s easily pronounceable in most languages.