At a glance
- U.S. rank 2025
- #7,679 of boy names (outside the top 1,000)
- Babies in 2025
- 10 (<0.01% of boys)
- Trend
- Rising #10,605 in 2020 to #7,679 in 2025
- Peak
- #2,269 in 1982
- First recorded
- 1917
Meaning of Sy
Sy, pronounced “sigh,” is a spunky one-syllable spark that has danced in and out of American birth charts for over a century, peaking and dipping like a kite in a playful breeze. With Hebrew roots as a cheerful diminutive of Simon (“he has heard”) and whispers of Greek and Latin lineage in Cyrus or Syrus (“lordly” or “from Syria”), Sy carries the weight of history on its nimble shoulders. It’s a name as breezy as a summer laugh, as crisp as the snap of autumn leaves—small enough to feel intimate, big enough to make an entrance. Whether on its own or as a shorthand nod to a longer moniker, Sy exudes charm, confidence, and that irresistible wink of personality every parent dreams of.
How to pronounce Sy
- Pronounced sigh /saɪ/
Popularity of Sy in the U.S.
Sy was the #7,679 boy name in the U.S. in 2025, with 10 babies. It peaked at #2,269 in 1982. It first appears in the records in 1917.
- Rank among U.S. boy names (right scale, #1 at the top)
Year-by-year table, 1917–2025 74 rows
| Year | Babies | Rank | vs previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | 7,679 | ▼ 422 |
| 2024 | 11 | 7,257 | ▲ 32 |
| 2023 | 11 | 7,289 | ▲ 1,701 |
| 2022 | 8 | 8,990 | ▼ 2,292 |
| 2021 | 12 | 6,698 | ▲ 3,907 |
| 2020 | 6 | 10,605 | ▼ 4,501 |
| 2019 | 14 | 6,104 | ▲ 1,032 |
| 2018 | 11 | 7,136 | ▲ 410 |
| 2017 | 10 | 7,546 | ▼ 1,757 |
| 2016 | 15 | 5,789 | ▲ 1,702 |
| 2015 | 10 | 7,491 | ▲ 1,290 |
| 2014 | 8 | 8,781 | ▼ 5,284 |
| 2013 | 30 | 3,497 | ▲ 1,036 |
| 2012 | 21 | 4,533 | ▲ 126 |
| 2011 | 20 | 4,659 | ▲ 388 |
| 2010 | 18 | 5,047 | ▼ 299 |
| 2009 | 20 | 4,748 | ▼ 1,102 |
| 2008 | 29 | 3,646 | ▲ 729 |
| 2007 | 22 | 4,375 | ▼ 593 |
| 2006 | 26 | 3,782 | ▼ 610 |
| 2005 | 32 | 3,172 | ▲ 688 |
| 2004 | 23 | 3,860 | ▼ 938 |
| 2003 | 33 | 2,922 | ▲ 748 |
| 2002 | 23 | 3,670 | ▲ 304 |
| 2001 | 20 | 3,974 | ▼ 210 |
| 2000 | 21 | 3,764 | ▼ 485 |
| 1999 | 24 | 3,279 | ▲ 318 |
| 1998 | 20 | 3,597 | ▲ 462 |
| 1997 | 16 | 4,059 | ▲ 2,437 |
| 1996 | 8 | 6,496 | ▼ 2,216 |
| 1995 | 14 | 4,280 | ▲ 10 |
| 1994 | 14 | 4,290 | ▼ 270 |
| 1993 | 15 | 4,020 | ▲ 307 |
| 1992 | 13 | 4,327 | ▼ 1,002 |
| 1991 | 18 | 3,325 | ▲ 3,090 |
| 1990 | 7 | 6,415 | ▼ 1,888 |
| 1989 | 11 | 4,527 | ▲ 673 |
| 1988 | 8 | 5,200 | ▼ 1,679 |
| 1987 | 13 | 3,521 | ▼ 742 |
| 1986 | 18 | 2,779 | ▼ 69 |
| 1985 | 18 | 2,710 | ▲ 749 |
| 1984 | 12 | 3,459 | ▲ 682 |
| 1983 | 9 | 4,141 | ▼ 1,872 |
| 1982 | 22 | 2,269 | ▲ 300 |
| 1981 | 18 | 2,569 | ▲ 48 |
| 1980 | 18 | 2,617 | ▲ 1,451 |
| 1979 | 9 | 4,068 | ▼ 1,139 |
| 1978 | 14 | 2,929 | ▲ 457 |
| 1977 | 11 | 3,386 | ▲ 85 |
| 1976 | 10 | 3,471 | ▼ 43 |
| 1975 | 10 | 3,428 | ▼ 879 |
| 1974 | 15 | 2,549 | ▲ 308 |
| 1973 | 12 | 2,857 | ▲ 487 |
| 1972 | 9 | 3,344 | ▲ 314 |
| 1971 | 8 | 3,658 | ▲ 1,066 |
| 1970 | 5 | 4,724 | back (not recorded in 1966–1969) |
| 1965 | 5 | 3,930 | ▼ 329 |
| 1964 | 6 | 3,601 | back (not recorded in 1963) |
| 1962 | 8 | 3,041 | ▲ 56 |
| 1961 | 8 | 3,097 | ▲ 941 |
| 1960 | 5 | 4,038 | ▼ 748 |
| 1959 | 7 | 3,290 | ▲ 269 |
| 1958 | 6 | 3,559 | ▼ 7 |
| 1957 | 6 | 3,552 | back (not recorded in 1956) |
| 1955 | 6 | 3,505 | back (not recorded in 1952–1954) |
| 1951 | 7 | 3,066 | back (not recorded in 1946–1950) |
| 1945 | 5 | 3,338 | back (not recorded in 1935–1944) |
| 1934 | 5 | 3,679 | back (not recorded in 1933) |
| 1932 | 6 | 3,361 | back (not recorded in 1927–1931) |
| 1926 | 6 | 3,708 | ▲ 489 |
| 1925 | 5 | 4,197 | back (not recorded in 1924) |
| 1923 | 6 | 3,822 | back (not recorded in 1919–1922) |
| 1918 | 5 | 4,179 | ▼ 962 |
| 1917 | 7 | 3,217 | new |
Notable people named Sy
- Sy Oliver was an American jazz musician known for his work as an arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader.
- Sy Koumbo Singa Gali is a Chadian journalist and human rights activist who founded the newspaper L'Observateur.
- Sy Bartlett — Sidney Bartlett was a Ukrainian American author, screenwriter and Hollywood film producer.
- Sy Rosenthal — Simon Rosenthal was an American baseball outfielder who played for the Boston Red Sox from 1925 to 1926.
- Sy Friedman — Sy-David Friedman is an American and Austrian mathematician known for his work in mathematical logic, set theory and recursion theory.