Sidney (given name)

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".

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. 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

Fictional characters

 * Sidney “Sid” Chang, the older sister of Adelaide Chang in The Casagrandes
 * Sidney Falco, protagonist in Sweet Smell of Success
 * Sidney “Sid” Jenkins, character in the television series Skins (British TV series)
 * Sidney “Sid” Phillips, main antagonist from Toy Story
 * Sidney Prescott, original protagonist in the Scream (franchise)