Sally is an
English language feminine
given name that originated as a
hypocorism for
Sarah.[1] Young children often have difficulty in pronouncing the letter
r, which resulted in nicknames like Sally that substitute the letter
r for
l. Other examples include
Dolly for
Dorothy,
Hallie for
Harriet,
Lolly for
Laura, and
Molly or
Polly for
Mary. Sally and spelling variant Sallie have also been in use as independent names since the 1700s. The name was popularized by cultural influences in the early 20th century, including the popular Broadway musical Sally, which debuted in 1920. Actress
Marilyn Miller played Sally on stage and
a 1929 film. An earlier
film featured
Colleen Moore in the role of Sally. The popularity of performer
Sally Rand also increased usage of Sally in the
Anglosphere in the 1920s and 1930s. In the United States, the name was among the top 100 names for American girls until 1956. It reached the peak of its popularity in 1939, when it was the 52nd most popular names for American girls. It then declined in use, but had a brief increase in use in the late 1970s due to the influence of the American actress
Sally Field.[2][3] It is also a nickname for
Salome and Salimeh, which are especially popular in the Eurasian country
Georgia.[4]
^Teresa Norman, A World of Baby Names (2003), page 309.
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
Sally is an
English language feminine
given name that originated as a
hypocorism for
Sarah.[1] Young children often have difficulty in pronouncing the letter
r, which resulted in nicknames like Sally that substitute the letter
r for
l. Other examples include
Dolly for
Dorothy,
Hallie for
Harriet,
Lolly for
Laura, and
Molly or
Polly for
Mary. Sally and spelling variant Sallie have also been in use as independent names since the 1700s. The name was popularized by cultural influences in the early 20th century, including the popular Broadway musical Sally, which debuted in 1920. Actress
Marilyn Miller played Sally on stage and
a 1929 film. An earlier
film featured
Colleen Moore in the role of Sally. The popularity of performer
Sally Rand also increased usage of Sally in the
Anglosphere in the 1920s and 1930s. In the United States, the name was among the top 100 names for American girls until 1956. It reached the peak of its popularity in 1939, when it was the 52nd most popular names for American girls. It then declined in use, but had a brief increase in use in the late 1970s due to the influence of the American actress
Sally Field.[2][3] It is also a nickname for
Salome and Salimeh, which are especially popular in the Eurasian country
Georgia.[4]
^Teresa Norman, A World of Baby Names (2003), page 309.
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.