Sally
On November 10, 1969, PBS launched the first episode of what would become one of the most revolutionary TV shows of all time: Sesame Street.
Featuring a young girl named Sally as well as a cast of characters both man and muppet, Sesame Street taught young children across the globe everything from their ABCs and 123s to how to be a good friend.
While many of us remember the show as a cookie-crazed monster and an oversized yellow bird, Sesame Street was actually created to provide disadvantaged youth with early education and kindergarten prep that they were unable to get from increasingly unaffordable preschools.
The name Sally was a fitting choice for a young girl in 1969. Traditionally a nickname for Biblical Sarah, meaning “princess”, Sally on its own peaked in the US at #52 in 1939 and stayed in the Top 200 until 1967 — 2 years prior to Sesame Street’s first airing.
Another Sarah diminutive — Sadie — has since become the dominant variation today. But sweet Sally has a lot to offer for herself. Popular Midcentury nickname names like Sally, Betty, Penny, and Bonnie feel unexpected today — not quite welcomed back into society yet, but pretty universally loveable nonetheless.
Funnily enough I once had someone come into my place of employment looking for me, but no one in my department could figure out who he was looking for. He kept asking for Sally. My nickname, which is the only name my coworkers knew me by at the time, is Shelly.