Sheridan
Masculine · “Irish”
Sheridan is given to both — 2,768 boys and 5,604 girls since 1880. See Sheridan as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Philip Sheridan died in 1888. The name peaks in 1891. Sons named for Union commanders arrived in numbers about twenty-five years after the war, when the men who had served were themselves fathers, and the peaks cluster around each general's death or memorial rather than around his campaigns.
How old is the name Sheridan?
Sheridan first appears in US birth records in 1891 — 134 years ago. The typical Sheridan alive today was born around 1962, making them about 63 years old. About 1,700 people named Sheridan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sheridan most popular?
Sheridan peaked in 1891, reaching #476 nationally. Today it ranks #8910, 8,434 places below that high. See the whole 1891 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Siridean to Sheridan
The story of Sheridan
The pattern of Civil War naming is clearest in the timing. Sherman, Sheridan, Grant, Meade and Logan all show American peaks in the 1880s and 1890s rather than in the 1860s, and the reason is generational: the men who fought were in their twenties during the war and became fathers of large families in the following decades, and the commemorative impulse was strongest as the veterans aged and their commanders died. Grant died in 1885, Sheridan in 1888, Sherman in 1891. The Southern side shows the same shape with different names, peaking around the Lee and Jackson memorials. Naming for a general is unusual among commemorative practices in that it produces a surname used as a first name, which is why this whole cohort entered the American stock as surnames and stayed there long after the association faded.
Meaningscholars disagree
Irish, descendant of Siridean
Sheridan is the anglicization of Irish O Sirideain, descendant of Siridean, a personal name of uncertain meaning sometimes connected to a word for seeking or for peace. The family were hereditary scholars in Cavan. The meaning of the underlying personal name is not established. The American peak of the given name is 1891.
How the name formed
- Siridean
- O Sirideain
- Sheridan
Related forms: O Sirideain · Sherridan
Pronouncing Sheridan
SHER-ih-dun
Three syllables, stress on the first. It is said the same in Irish and American English, which is unusual for an anglicized Irish surname.
Nicknames for Sheridan
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1891
- Most boys named
- 199146 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #476reached in 1891
- Change vs 2022
- −46.7%8 in 2025, from 15
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Sheridan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- O Sirideain in Irish — related form
- Sherridan in English — spelling variant
Sheridans among us
people named Sheridan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 213,510 born in 2025 was named Sheridan
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Sheridan sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Sheridan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sheridan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Dan is available as a short form and is a common name.
- It is a genuine Irish surname with a documented family history.
- The spelling and pronunciation agree.
- It is used for girls as well as boys in American records.
- The underlying Irish personal name has no settled meaning.
- The 1891 peak places it firmly in the nineteenth century.
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What they receive
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Sheridan
Masculine · #8910 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sheridans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Sheridan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sheridan in 2025?
- Sheridan ranks #8910 among US boy names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sheridan?
- About 1 in every 213,510 US boys born in 2025 was named Sheridan — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sheridan with classmates?
- Sheridan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sheridan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Davie#8910 · Ned#8910 · Darious#8910 · Alois#8910 · Len#8910 · Barton#8910 · Desmon#8910 · Winfield#8910
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sheridan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sheridan and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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