Daily AncestorSally
Sally was a common nickname for Sarah in American records of the 1700s and 1800s.
Sally formed from Sarah when the r sound was replaced by an l, as in Molly from Mary and Dolly from Dorothy. Charlotte Yonge notes that Sarah grew popular after the Reformation together with Sally, and both spellings, Sally and Sallie, were also given as names in their own right from the 1700s on.
If a search for Sarah finds nothing, try Sally, and the reverse. Treat a match as a lead and confirm it with age, birthplace and family members.
As seen in a recordGravestone, 1838; her husband's will calls her Sarah
Sally, wife of Lemuel Venable, died March 18, 1838, aged 58 years
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Sally." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/nicknames/sally. Last checked 2026-10-15.