Sidney is a unisex name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Sidney means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Sidney across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Sidney has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Sidney is a unisex name of Old English origin meaning “wide meadow”. a variant of Sydney.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 108,987 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 5,138 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 44 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 3 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 26 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Sidney per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 1918 (1,939/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2022 (294/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2025 (13/yr) · Ireland peaked in 1973 (4/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2024 (3/yr).
Sidney has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1918, when it ranked #214 nationally (given to 1,939 babies that year), and a popular choice in the 1910s.
Sydney · Sydnee · Sydni · Stoney · Sydnie · Stone · Cydney · Sydna
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