The baby name Sloane traveled from fashionable London to suburban Chicago and sunny Los Angeles before becoming a mainstream favorite.
Thanks to Christy for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
RAIDER and RANGER
As you can probably guess, the baby name Sloane started out as a surname.
It comes from the Gaelic O’Sluagháin – raider. As in pirate or marauder or football team.
But in the 1980s, Sloane took on a very different association, thanks to Lady Diana Spencer.
Right before she became the most famous woman in the world, Diana belonged to a circle of young, well-born Londoners. Their address of choice? A Chelsea neighborhood called Sloane Square. That, naturally, made them the Sloane Rangers.
The world watched as Lady Di became a princess in a fairytale wedding broadcast around the world. We all learned the term Sloanie – the rough equivalent of “preppy” in 1980s American slang.
Named for Sir Hans Sloane, an eighteenth century physician and landowner, Sloane Square remains quite stylish all these years later. Think reality series Made in Chelsea.
Of course, it’s no surprise that Sloane didn’t catch on back then. It was understood that Sloanie wasn’t exactly praise – and certainly wasn’t considered a given name.
SAVE FERRIS!
It wasn’t much longer until Sloane transitioned to given name status.
The year was 1986. Matthew Broderick was Ferris Bueller. And Ferris? He was taking a day off.
The John Hughes classic sent Ferris on adventures across Chicago in the company of his best friend Cameron and girlfriend Sloane.
Mia Sara played the girlfriend, wearing an unforgettable white leather fringed jacket. As high school girl characters from the 1980s go, she’s memorable for being level-headed and very kind.
The movie was a box office hit. Four decades later, it remains a favorite for many.
You might expect that the name baby name Sloane would have taken off, bolstered by the combined power of Diana and Ferris. After all, Cameron got a big bump in the 80s.
That’s not what happened.
In 1980, seven girls were given the name, along with ten boys. By 1990, those numbers were 67 girls and 5 boys.
A handful of uses kept the name in the public eye, like essayist Sloane Crosley’s best-selling I Was Told There’d Be Cake.
But it would take one more pop culture push before the baby name Sloane started to climb.
FROM LONDON TO LOS ANGELES
In 2004, the world met Vincent Chase, a rising star in a fictional/but not version of Hollywood. The headliner of Entourage was, obviously, surrounded by his friends and family.
That included childhood BFF Eric, now promoted to manager. As the series progresses, we meet recurring Entourage character Sloan McQuewick, his on-again, off-again girlfriend.
That Sloan – hold the E – boosted the name. The character debuted on the HBO series in 2005. That year, the name was given to 120 girls. By 2007, that number was 217.
Long-running series Grey’s Anatomy gave us Sloan Riley, the long-lost daughter of Dr. Mark Sloan, in 2009.
The baby name Sloan also doubled in use between 2005 and 2007, going from 56 girls to 115 girls, and kept on climbing from there.
BY the NUMBERS
The baby name Sloane finally broke into the US Top 1000 in 2009, ranked at #885. Since then, it has risen steadily in use. As of 2020, the name stands at #181.
Sloan followed behind, currently ranked #663.
How high will it rise?
It’s sleek and modern, a cool and sophisticated name for a daughter. But it’s joyful, too. And just like Blair echoes classic Claire, Sloane’s success owes a little something to the time-tested Joan.
Parents who love Harper and Grace might agree on the baby name Sloane.
It’s a sister for Sutton, an alternative to Quinn.
And for now, it’s a just slightly unexpected name that feels effortlessly stylish.
What do you think of the baby name Sloane? Do you prefer it with or without the e?
This post was originally published on August 12, 2010. It was substantially revised and re-posted on May 30, 2016 and again on February 24, 2022.
Sloane is an awesome name — sounds strong, assured and cool as a cucumber.
I’m so surprised at the popularity of this name and the thinking that it’s so new. We named our daughter (born Jan. 2016) Sloan in memory of my grandfather. He was given the name in the 1920’s. I hated reading some of the posts online about how pretentious it is and wish I hadn’t read those things! We love our happy little baby!
There’s also a character from Grey’s Anatomy named Mark Sloan. Several seasons in he finds out he has a grown daughter named Sloan after him.
A few thoughts…
1. I think of Ferris immediately
2. I think it’s a name nerd name right now, but will go up in the ranks as people move on from the current trendy names in search of something else.
3. It makes me think of Sylvester Stallone
I have to agree! Sloane sounds terrible, and it is an insult in the U.K. Frankly, it’s a bit much to assume the child will never meet one of the millions of people to whom this is a negative slang term.
I mean, I wouldn’t name my child something that was a negative word in America even though I am not American – we live in a global community.
We’re considering this name and live in Canada I’ve asked everyone I can think of with a tie to or friends in or who have lived in the U.K. and no one has made the negative connection yet. I don’t know that it’s all that well known as your post suggests.
Sarah, I agree with you. I think we all forget how quickly cultural references fade, and how dramatically perceptions can change. The Sloane Ranger references are nearly 40 (!!) years old. Ask a teenager today about Ferris Bueller and most of them will reply, “Who?!” Combined with the increase in girls named Sloane, I think any stigma will continue to fade … if there is any left.
I love Sloane – I too, put Sloane into many of my stories for a few years. Ah, name crushes! My ultimate problem with it was the no-nickname thing, but I love the idea of “Lolo”.
I actually really like Sloane. I COMPLETELY agree with Christy
Sloane sounds crisp, cool,smooth and professional to me. It sounds like the name of someone who knows their mind and stands up for what they believe. It sounds like a leader and a strong woman, while not losing her femininity. Sloane is versatile and could be the intellectual, goth, cheerleader or tomboy for me
I love love love this name and am so disappointed that it’s been tapped to rise. I almost wish we had named our daughter Sloane Lorraine instead of Helena Lorraine (Lorraine is a family name) because she has such a headstrong personality which Sloane just seems to fit, and it dawned on me later that we could have called her Lolo or Lola for a nickname. It’s still in the running if we have another daughter. Do it, Christy! What’s your middle name choice??
Her name would be Sloane Paula (after my mom). Our other top 2 name is Harper Paula. I am just scared of Harper becoming the next Madison, though it seems to still be somewhat uncommon. I am very surprised to read all the negative commnents about the name Sloane. Not that I care as it is a personal decision after all. My husband and I go back and forth on these 2 names regularily…. less than 3 months until we find out if baby is a boy or girl. We are pretty much decided on the name Cooper if the baby is a boy.
I love Harper, but I do hear Harper so much …
Honestly, nearly ANY name that isn’t common gets mixed reviews, and if it is common, it gets a lot of “oh, I love it, but I know three.” (See what I just wrote? I include myself in people who say we love unusual but often react negatively until the name is more common.) It’s very rare to land on a truly unusual name that generates nothing but enthusiastic responses.
Ditto Abby
Yeah, also, it depends on the day that you ask. I’ve asked people what they think about a name and on that day they all hate it ! Two weeks later, everyone is loving it! Plus, a lot of people don’t always comment. Sometimes I’ve seen posts where everyone is LOVING the name, meanwhile I’m scratching my head , absolutely incredulous and I don’t comment. Or, it is the opposite . So, you might get 15 comments and everyone is positive, but the majority of people might actually dislike it OR, you can get 15 negative comments and the majority love it. In my experience, if a name has a positive association, that will problem win the person over to the name. Maybe someone who doesn’t like Sloane now, will love it if you have a little Sloane! They’ll think of that really sweet little kid etc
Anyway, good luck!
We almost named our daughter Sloan Lorraine! Sloan from my grandfather and Lorraine from my grandmother. We ended up using Sloan Laura for my husband’s mother.
I wonder if John Hughes was making up for being plain ol’ John, or if he really just had a knack for naming? You’re right – he really chose some amazing character names.
I don’t hate Sloane and I can see why other parents might embrace it, but it’s too tied to the Sloane Rangers for me to even consider it. I’ll stick with the similar sounding Joan.
John Hughes has inspired a lot of baby names: Cameron, Claire, Samantha, Jake, Ian, Miles, and Wyatt. I’m just surprised Sloane hadn’t made the top 1000 much earlier.