Sydney
Sydney was the 348th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 873 babies. Its best year was 1999, when it ranked 23rd; the most babies were born in 2000 (10,243). Over the last ten years it has moved down 226 places. More babies were named Sydney in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning wide island (English place name) · Old English
Say it SID-nee /ˈsɪdni/
- Rank in 2025
- #348 girls, down 107 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 873girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 200010,243 babies
- Total since 1880
- 187,700babies recorded
What does the name Sydney mean?
Sydney is a spelling of the English surname Sidney. Wiktionary derives it from a place in Surrey, Old English sīd, "wide", and ēg, "island" or dry ground in a marsh. Bardsley (1901) accepted the older story that the family came from Saint-Denis in France; modern sources no longer support that. The cities in Australia and Canada are named after Viscount Sydney, not directly for the meaning.
sīd (Old English, “wide”)ēg (Old English, “island, raised land in marsh”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Other explanations you may read: contraction of Saint-Denis.
Related names: Sidney, Syd, Sydnee.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Sydney', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Sidney', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (1901), s.v. 'Sidney', Henry Frowde (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
Nicknames for Sydney
The usual nicknames for Sydney are Syd.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syd | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Sydneys go by each one.
Sydney popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 9,404 since 1880, 20 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #348 | 873 |
| 2020 | #241 | 1,246 |
| 2010 | #60 | 4,335 |
| 2000 | #23 | 10,243 |
| 1990 | #150 | 2,028 |
| 1980 | #1,086 | 130 |
| 1970 | #1,139 | 103 |
| 1960 | #944 | 128 |
| 1950 | #595 | 202 |
| 1940 | #761 | 85 |
| 1930 | #1,456 | 29 |
| 1920 | #1,505 | 30 |
| 1910 | #1,204 | 15 |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | #1,323 | 6 |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Sydney, counting every spelling?
Sydney is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #361 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #348 for Sydney on its own. Together these spellings went to 913 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 873 | #348 | 5,380 |
| Sydnee | 14 | #7,852 | 112 |
| Cydney | 9 | #10,273 | 77 |
| Sydnie | 9 | #10,824 | 71 |
| Sydni | 8 | #11,816 | 60 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Sydney?
873 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Sydney (0.24 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Sydney born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 10 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Sydney.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Sydney?
About 173,600 people born in the US named Sydney are alive today, with a median age of 24; half are between 18 and 29. That makes Sydney mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Sydney by state
How common Sydney was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in District of Columbia (5.3×), Rhode Island (3.9×), Massachusetts (2.3×), South Dakota (2.3×), Connecticut (2.3×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Maine, New Mexico, Texas.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Sydney: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Sydney, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Sydney · Sibling names for Sydney
Questions about the name Sydney
What does Sydney mean?
Sydney means “wide island (English place name)” (Old English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Sydney?
Sydney was the 348th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 873 babies. Its best year was 1999, when it ranked 23rd; the most babies were born in 2000 (10,243). Over the last ten years it has moved down 226 places. More babies were named Sydney in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Sydney a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Sydney in the US.
Where is Sydney most popular?
In 2021–2025, Sydney was most common in District of Columbia (3.54 per 1,000 girls), followed by Rhode Island and Massachusetts.