Sidney
English surname with two sources: places named from Old English for a wide island, and the Norman place name Saint-Denis. The aristocratic Sidney family made it a first name.
Sidney in 2025
Sidney was given to 251 babies in the United States in 2025 — 146 boys and 105 girls, making it the 1,915th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 13,209 babies born.
The history of Sidney
Sidney reached its highest point in 1918, when 1,939 babies were given the name, ranking 214th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 193rd, in 1912.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 108,987 babies have been named Sidney. Half of them were born before 1950, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Baby Boomers.
Sidney by decade
| Decade | Babies named Sidney | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,619 | 200 |
| 1890s | 1,782 | 262 |
| 1900s | 2,178 | 298 |
| 1910s | 13,231 | 193 |
| 1920s | 14,769 | 249 |
| 1930s | 10,117 | 322 |
| 1940s | 10,559 | 348 |
| 1950s | 10,524 | 411 |
| 1960s | 7,415 | 557 |
| 1970s | 4,144 | 746 |
| 1980s | 4,114 | 879 |
| 1990s | 10,793 | 418 |
| 2000s | 11,130 | 427 |
| 2010s | 4,885 | 857 |
| 2020s | 1,727 | 1,593 |
Where Sidney is heading
Sidney has fallen 44% over the past decade, from 450 babies in 2015 to 251 in 2025.
Names like Sidney
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Sidney.