BABY NAMES
Sydney
French
 Up in popularity
 Down in popularity
 Best bet
 Unisex
Isn't it amazing how one name can sound entirely different on two people? On a boy, Sydney comes off as an elderly gentleman with a bow tie, but on a girl, Sydney is chic, young, and ready to whup some bad-guy ass (thanks to Jennifer Garner on Alias). It is interesting to note that in the past 20 years, Sydney has replaced the similar but daintier Cindy in the popularity polls.

Variations
Syd, Sy, Syndonah, Cidney, Syndona, Sidney, Sidni, Sidneigh, Sidnee, Sidonia, Sidnie, Cydnie, Tzidoni, Cydney, Sydna, Sydelle, Sydel, Sydny, Siddeny, Sydnye, Sideny, Sydni, Siddaine, Sydnie, Sydnee
Popularity rankings from the Social Security Administration
Sydney
About name popularity rankings
You may find some surprises -- for example, who knew Jennifer was a boy's name? Because this feature uses actual Social Security data, it includes the human error that attends a large survey, but it still reliably reflects the patterns of naming fashion.