Sidney (given name)


Sidney is an English given name derived from the surname, which itself has 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".
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; since its peak in the 1910s its usage has declined steadily. Sidney was used to name girls in the 1800s, such as Sidney Browne. From the early 1990s to the 2000s, the name Sidney was 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:

Fictional characters