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.
We named our daughter Sally after a character from a BBC series, “The Irish R.M.” and from the little girl in Robert McCloskey’s “Blueberries for Sal.” Our Sal is a corker. She is blonde and bumptious, full of fun, everything a Sally should be. I call her my Pearl, because she is priceless.She is now in her 20’s and still one of a kind, like every other Sally I have know. She is a cake decorator!
Thank you, Abby, for your thoughtful response! The name is on my list, along with my other (deceased) grandmother’s name, Pearl. I can’t help but fantasize about two daughters named Sally & Pearl!
Your website is so wonderful and I so enjoy reading it and anxiously await every Name of the Day! I also was touched by your recent post about infertility. After nearly 2 years my husband and I are still waiting to have a single positive pregnancy test, but I know we’ll be parents someday and I’ll get to put my name expertise to the test! 🙂
My Grandmother’s name is Sally! She was born in the 1930’s. So yes, it definitely seems like a Grandma or Great Grandma name right now. I would be surprised to meet anyone in their 20’s through 50’s named this, but 60’s and up, definitely!
I love my grandmother so much and we are very close; I would be thrilled to name a daughter after her. Do you think Sally is due for a revival? I wonder how it would be perceived to hear of a Baby Sally today. Would it be like the Evelyns, Hazels, Charlottes, and Vivians? As in, a nice, vintage name that sounds fresh? Or is it too soon for Sally? Names like Linda, Deborah and Barbara seem way too early and I don’t think they’ll be back for another 30-40 years. I wouldn’t lump Sally in that category, but would others? Either way, when it’s time for Sally to be revived, I doubt she’ll become as popular as Evelyn & Lily. I think Sally has always been familiar but not over-used.
Anyways, I have some agonizing to do about the name. It is so very happy & cheery!
It is a cherry, happy name! I’m biased – I have a friend called Sallie who makes me see the name in a different light. She’s smart, edgy, and stylish, so Sally has never felt aged to me. I think a little Sally would probably have friends named Molly and Callie and Hailey, so even if the name isn’t common anymore, she wouldn’t sound out of place. I imagine lots of adults would say, “Oh, you never that hear that name anymore.” But in some ways, these make for the best names – familiar, easy to spell, but not shared.
My name is also Sally. It’s my actual name too, but my parents gave me Sara(h) as a nickname. I always felt weird about my name since I too have been the only Sally in elementary, middle, and high school. I’m always wishing I’ll meet another Sally just to see what it feels like. Any Sally I’ve heard of (like my friend’s mom’s friend or my other friend’s mom who lives all the way in Ohio) are older women… Like I said, it feels weird to have a name that was popular way in the 1930s40s50s, but I guess it’s unique and it makes me stand out haha~ I’ve grown to like my name a lot (except when people call me “that girl”…).
My name is Sally, short for Sally. My father named me and always told me that it meant to go forth boldly. Turns out it means more like an unplanned attack from a vulnerable position, to rush out desperately into no-man’s-land. Don Quixote’s adventures are called his first, second, and third sallies. I hope that’s the end of it being pretty, positive, and cute.
Count me in as another Sara, nicknamed Sally. The really wonderful thing about this name is that virtually everyone has heard of it, but very few know anyone who goes by it. I’m in my 20s and I was THE ONLY Sally in my entire elementary school, middle school, high school AND college. (And this after several moves, too.) It’s a great feeling, to have a name not in the top 1000 – you really standout. I feel like Sally’s due for a comeback. It’s easy to say, easy to spell and yet – for whatever reason – extremely rare. And I love Mustang Sally.
Well, my name is Sally. I’ve always gone by Sally, even though my name is Sara Elizabeth. I was named after my great grandmother, Sara Elizabeth, who also went by Sally. I love my name, and the nick names associated with it. Mustang Sally is a little tough to listen to at weddings. Not really a fan of that one. However, I really like Eric Clapton’s Lay Down Sally. I’ve never been a Sara. It’s a little confusing to people who see my formal name as Sara and have no idea where the nickname Sally came from. The bank sometimes gives me trouble if I try to cash checks written to Sally. Most other Sallys I have met also are officially named Sara. Other than the confusion regarding the nickname, it’s a great, happy, unique name to have.
I love Sally! A friend of mine had a little sister named Sally. She is now early twenties and GORGEOUS and I think her name is so distinctive for her generation. I would have a Sally and Betsy sibset in a heartbeat.
If I had a different surname to bestow, Sarah, called Sally would be near the top of my list. Like other posters have said it’s a rather cheerful name to give to a daughter.
An old friend of mine is named Alessandra, nicknamed Sally.
We didn’t do Salome in part because of our fear of this nickname. I associate it with women in their 40s and 50s. But seeing everyone’s positive talk about the name, I’ve taken a small step toward seeing it in a different light. And I confess my ignorance: I had no idea it was a nn for Sarah.