The Baby Name Wizard

Reader Contributions

Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Sally!

Comments and insights on the name Sally: | Edit

My name is Sally and I love it. I was born in the mid 1960s and the name wasn't as popular as earlier then so there were only a few other girls with my name. Maybe because of that I have always felt like an individual. I was always so thrilled when a Peanuts cartoon came on TV because Charlie Brown's sister is "Sally." It's an old but spunky name and it suits my personality perfectly. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the perfect name for me.

Personal experiences with the name Sally: | Edit

My sister's name is Sally. Maybe it's because I'm getting up there in years but I like the name. I am surprised that there are not more little girls with this name.

I was named Sally Anne at birth, and as far as I can remember I always disliked it. I remember old men singing the music hall song 'Sally in our Alley' to me, and an amazing number of people call their dogs Sally! My violin teacher always called me Sarah because she assumed that was my 'real' name, and I loved that, but it took me until I was 38 to decide to change my name legally to Sarah. I have never regretted it. The writer above says s/he is surprised there are not more little girls with this name, and I think that betrays the fact that it is really a small girls name. Don't call your child Sally - call her Sarah and let her be known as Sally while she is little, then she can move to her grown-up name when she is ready.

I was also named Sally Ann at birth and have always hated my name. I hate that it sounds depression era and silly. (Silly Sally, go figure!) I am in a very serious profession and I sometimes feel that it has hampered my advancement and held me back a bit. In the past I have actually had complete strangers tell me that my "real" name was Sarah, and "Didn't I know that?" I wish! I would have much rather been named Sarah.

My best friend is named Sally. She is sixteen now. She doesn't show that she hates her name but I know that she doesn't like it.

I'm really surprised by what's been said here. My experience with the name Sally has always been positive and overwhelmingly strong. The two women I know called Sally are both over 50 (60?), super-intelligent, creative, strong, sophisticated and elegant. So, for me, Sally has that meaning. I don't see it as a "silly, little girl's name" at all. I think it has a similar style to the name Lucy. Crisp, classic with a bit of panache.

Nicknames for Sally: | Edit

Sal, Sazza, Lee-Lee, Sissy, Susie, Sadie

Doesn't need one! :)

Meanings and history of the name Sally: | Edit

Short form of Sarah, meaning "princess" in Hebrew". Sally is also often used as an independent name.

Famous real-life people named Sally: | Edit

Sally Jones, British journalist and broadcaster - the first woman to broadcast sports for the BBC
Sally Fields, American actress
Sally Ride, American astronaut, the first American woman in space
Sally Kirkland, American actress
Sally Jessy Raphael, American talk show host
Sally Struthers, American actress and spokeswoman
Sally Whittaker, American actress
Sally Potter, English film director and screenwriter
Sally Hemings, African-American lover of Thomas Jefferson
Sally Rand, American exotic dancer
Sally Hawkins, English actress
Sally Morgan, Australian aboriginal author, dramatist

Sally in song, story & screen: | Edit

Sally Brown, Charlie Brown's younger sister in the comic strip "Peanuts"
Sally Albright, character in the movie "When Harry Met Sally", played by Meg Ryan
Sally Bowles, bohemian performer in the book "The Berlin Stories" by Christopher Isherwood. In the movie "Cabaret", which was based on this book, she was played by Liza Minelli.
Sally-Anne Perks, character in the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.
"Mustang Sally", song by Wilson Pickett
"Long Tall Sally", song by Little Richard and later the Beatles
"Lay Down Sally", song by Eric Clapton
"Sally in Our Alley", traditional English folk song
Sally Dugan, in the 1996 film "The Associate"
Aunt Sally, character in "Wurzel Gummidge", British children's TV show
Sally Owens, in the 1998 film "Practical Magic"
"Sally", song by Foxboro Hot Tubs