Sidney (often shortened to Sid) is an English given name deriving from the surname, itself of two different derivations depending on the origins of the family. In some cases a place name, itself from Old English, meaning "wide water meadow", and in others from the French place name "St. Denis".[1]
Sidney became widely used as a given name in English-speaking countries during the 19th century. It was popularised in the United States after the American Revolution due to admiration for the English politician Algernon Sidney as a martyr to royal tyranny;[2] since its peak in the 1910s its usage has declined steadily. From the early 1990s to the 2000s, the name Sidney has become a fashionable name given to girls. Sydney is also a spelling variant of the name whatever the gender; other variants include Cydney and Cidney for a girl.
People
Notable people with the given name include:
- Sidney Abrahams (1885–1957), British long jumper
- Sidney Alford (1935-2021), English inventor and explosives engineer
- Sidney Barnard (1914–?), English footballer
- Sidney Barthelemy (born 1942), American politician
- Sidney Burr Beardsley (1823–1890), justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
- Sidney Bechet (1897–1959), American jazz saxophonist
- Sidney Beckerman (disambiguation), several people
- Sidney Bernstein (disambiguation), several people
- Sid Caesar (1922–2014), actor and comedian
- Sidney Carroll (1913–1988), American film and television scriptwriter
- Sidney Robertson Cowell (1903–1995), American ethnomusicologist
- Sidney Crosby (born 1987), Canadian ice hockey player
- Sidney H. Chang (1934–2016), Chinese-American historian, author, and academic
- Sidney Cooke (born 1927) serial killer and leader of the "Dirty Dozen"
- Sidney Dawson (1893–19??), English footballer
- Sidney Duteil (born 1955), French musician and television and radio host
- Sidney Easton (1885–1971), American actor, playwright and composer
- Sid Eudy, professional wrestler known as "Sycho" Sid Vicious/Justice
- Sidney Fox (1907–1942), American stage and film actress
- Sid Field (1904–1950), English comedy entertainer
- Sidney Robert Freshwater (1919–2019), Australian cycling administrator
- Sid Gepford (1895–1924), American football halfback
- Sid Gillman (1911–2003), American football player and coach
- Sidney Leslie Goodwin (1910–1912), English child who perished in the Titanic disaster
- Sidney Gordin (1918–1996), Russian-born American artist, professor
- Sid Gordon (1917–1975), American major league baseball All-Star player
- Sidney Govou (born 1979), French football player
- Sid Hadden (1877–1934), English cricketer
- Sidney Hauser, American saxophonist
- Sidney Hertzberg (1922–2005), American pro basketball player
- Sidney Mttron Hirsch (1884–1962), American model and playwright
- Sidney Homer (1864–1953), American composer
- Sidney William Jackson (1873–1946), Australian ornithologist
- Sid James (1913–1976), South African-born English film and television actor
- Sidney Jones (American football) (born 1995), American football player
- Sidney Kennon (died 1754), British midwife
- Sidney Knott (1933–2020), South African cricketer
- Sidney Lanier (1842–1881), American musician, poet and author
- Sidney Lee (1859–1926), English biographer, writer and critic
- Sid Luckman (1916–1998), American NFL Hall of Fame football player
- Sidney Lumet (1924–2011), American film director
- Sidney Lyon (1884–19??), American lawyer and state legislator
- Sidney Magal (born 1953), Brazilian singer and actor
- Sidney McKnight (born 1955), Canadian boxer
- Sid Meier (born 1954), game developer, famous for his Civilization series
- Sidney Meyers (1906–1969), American film director
- Sidney Mobell (1926–2022), American artist, jeweler, and philanthropist
- Sidney Moncrief (born 1957), American basketball player
- Sidney Moraes (born 1977), Brazilian footballer
- Sidney Myer (1878–1934), Australian businessman and philanthropist
- Sidney Nolan (1917–1992), Australian artist
- Sidney Arnold Pakeman (1891–1975), British soldier, professor and politician
- Sidney Phillips (1924–2015), American soldier and physician
- Sidney Pike (1858–1923), British painter
- Sidney Poitier (1927–2022), American actor
- Sidney Ponson (born 1976), Aruban baseball pitcher
- Sidney Powell (born 1955), American attorney
- Sidney Pullen (1895–c. 1950), English football (soccer) player
- Sidney Armor Reeve (1866–1941), American author and professor
- Sidney Rittenberg (1921–2019), American journalist
- Sidney Sheldon (1917–2007), American writer and producer
- Sidney Souza (born 1972), Brazilian footballer
- Sidney Spencer (born 1985), American basketball player
- Sidney Tannenbaum (1925–1986), American basketball player
- Sid Terris (1904–1974), American lightweight boxer
- Sidney Topol (1924–2022), American innovator and entrepreneur
- Sidney Veysey (born 1955), Canadian ice hockey player
- Sidney Wicks (born 1949), American basketball player
- Sid Wilson (born 1977), American DJ, keyboardist and pianist
