Sidney

What Sidney means

Means “wide + island”

From Old English *Sīdaneġ, the name of a place in Surrey, from sīd (“wide”) + eġ (“island”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Sidney” (revision 94543516), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Sidney?

US: Falling: down from #1086 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #230 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1912, when 1,003 boys got the name (#80 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 11,699 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,101 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,964 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in SC (0.24 per 1,000 boys), VA (0.21 per 1,000 boys), WA (0.21 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Sidney is #1323 in the US and #203 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 58.2% of US babies named Sidney were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Sydney20 US · 22 E&W
• Stoney36 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Sidney

Boys

• Mitchell#952Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1994, with 5,370 babies; 245 in 2025
• Taylor#683From the word “tailor”^*
• Cody#318Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1992, with 19,876 babies; 1,076 in 2025
• Kyle#508“narrows”^*
• Corey#778possibly “troop, host, company”^*
• Curtis#984“polite, courteous”^*

For a sister

• Kelsey#814Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #343 in 2015, #814 in 2025
• Shelby#649Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1991, with 10,220 babies; 444 in 2025
• Kelly#851Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1977, with 18,234 babies; 319 in 2025
• Tiffany#878Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1988, with 18,364 babies; 304 in 2025
• Ashley#164“ash tree + wood, clearing”^*
• Kimberly#302Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #108 in 2015, #302 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Sidney’s. Rank is US 2025.