Sister
Feminine · “sister”
Sister is a family title that some Southern families wrote on birth records as a name. It says exactly what it means, and English borrowed the word itself from the Vikings.
How old is the name Sister?
Sister first appears in US birth records in 1883 — 142 years ago. The typical Sister alive today was born around 1911, making them about 114 years old. Fewer than a hundred people named Sister are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
When was the name Sister most popular?
Sister peaked in 1891, reaching #727 nationally. See the whole 1891 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From systir to Sister
The story of Sister
Old English had its own word, sweostor, but the Norse settlers of northern England said systir, and the Norse form won, giving modern English sister. In the American South families often called a daughter Sister for her whole life, and some wrote it on her certificate. Eudora Welty built a famous comic story around such a woman: the narrator of Why I Live at the P.O. is known only as Sister, and she tells how a family quarrel drove her to move into the post office where she works.
Meaning
sister
The English word sister, used as a given name. It was common in the American South as a lifelong name for a daughter, often the eldest.
How the name formed
- systir
- sister
- Sister
Pronouncing Sister
SIS-ter
Said exactly like the word.
Nicknames for Sister
Limited
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
- 1883
- Most girls named
- 191421 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #727reached in 1891
- Change vs 1944
- −44.4%5 in 1946, from 9
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.
Sisters among us
Fewer than a hundred people named Sister are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Sister sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is warm and completely clear.
- It carries a real Southern family tradition.
- It reads as a title, not a name, and many will assume a nickname.
- It is also the title of a nun, which will cause confusion in formal settings.
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Sister
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Sisters are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. Fewer than a hundred people named Sister are estimated to be alive in the US today — a true one-of-a-kind name.
- How popular is the name Sister in 2025?
- Sister is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Sister with classmates?
- Sister will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Susan#1085 · Sarah#90 · Sandra#1207 · Stephanie#557 · Sharon#1250 · Shirley#1581 · Samantha#151 · Sophia#5
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sister? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sister and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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