# Sloane (given name)
**Sloane** is a modern English given name, used almost entirely for girls, taken from an Irish surname that is an Anglicized form of Ó Sluaghadháin, itself derived from the given name Sluaghadhán.[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/sloane) It entered the United States top 1000 for girls in 2009 and has since climbed to the neighborhood of #140, while remaining rare as a boys' name.[2](https://www.behindthename.com/name/sloane/top/united-states/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Sluaghadháin, derived from the given name Sluaghadhán[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/sloane) |
| Underlying meaning | Ó Sluaghadháin means "descendant of Sluaghadhán", a diminutive of the personal name Sluaghadh, "raider"[3](https://downloads.freemdict.com/%E5%B0%9A%E6%9C%AA%E6%95%B4%E7%90%86/%E5%85%B1%E4%BA%AB2020.5.11/content/1_english/3_Oxford%20series/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland.pdf) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsloʊn/, one syllable[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/sloane) |
| US peak | #140 for girls in 2022; #141 in 2025[2](https://www.behindthename.com/name/sloane/top/united-states/) |
| US births, 2025 | 2,077 girls, against 23 boys the previous recorded year[4](https://nameberry.com/name/sloane) |
| Gender balance | About 98% of US registrations are female[5](https://www.namecensus.com/first-names/sloane-meaning-and-history/) |
| Cultural association | In British informal use, "Sloane" (from Sloane Square, London) denotes a stylish upper-class young person, a usage dating from the 1970s[6](https://slovar-vocab.com/english/oxford-learners-vocab/sloane-7001719.html) |
## Etymology and surname history
The surname behind the given name is documented in *The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland* under the head form **Sloan**, with Sloane, Sloanes, and Slone listed as variants. The dictionary derives it from Irish and Scottish Gaelic Ó Sluaghadháin, "descendant of Sluaghadhán", a diminutive of the personal name *Sluaghadh*, meaning "raider".[3](https://downloads.freemdict.com/%E5%B0%9A%E6%9C%AA%E6%95%B4%E7%90%86/%E5%85%B1%E4%BA%AB2020.5.11/content/1_english/3_Oxford%20series/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland.pdf) The same root, *sluaghadh* ("expedition, raid"), also produced the unrelated-looking surname Slowey.[7](https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/SLOAN)
The surname's recorded history runs through Scotland and Ulster. A family with the name Sloane emigrated from Scotland to Ireland during the reign of James I.[3](https://downloads.freemdict.com/%E5%B0%9A%E6%9C%AA%E6%95%B4%E7%90%86/%E5%85%B1%E4%BA%AB2020.5.11/content/1_english/3_Oxford%20series/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland.pdf) Early bearers include William Sloane in the Midlothian Charters of 1504, and in Ireland Slowan recorded as a principal [Irish name](https://www.edgepedia.org/irish-name) in the 1659 Irish Census and Poll at Newry, County Down, followed by Sloans and Sloanes in the Hearth Money Rolls of the 1660s in Louth, Armagh, Antrim, and Down.[3](https://downloads.freemdict.com/%E5%B0%9A%E6%9C%AA%E6%95%B4%E7%90%86/%E5%85%B1%E4%BA%AB2020.5.11/content/1_english/3_Oxford%20series/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland.pdf) In the 1881 census of Great Britain the spelling Sloan was concentrated around Glasgow, Lancashire, and Cumberland, while Sloane was most frequent in [Lancashire](https://www.edgepedia.org/lancashire), Cumberland, and Durham.[3](https://downloads.freemdict.com/%E5%B0%9A%E6%9C%AA%E6%95%B4%E7%90%86/%E5%85%B1%E4%BA%AB2020.5.11/content/1_english/3_Oxford%20series/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland.pdf)
## Adoption as a given name
Sloane is classified as a modern English feminine name, pronounced /ˈsloʊn/.[1](https://www.behindthename.com/name/sloane) In the United States it first appeared in the [Social Security Administration](https://www.edgepedia.org/social-security-administration)'s published top-1000 tables for girls in 2009 at #884, then rose steadily: #592 in 2010, #266 in 2016, #181 in 2018, and #140 at its peak in 2022. It has stayed near that level since, at #151 in 2023, #153 in 2024, and #141 in 2025.[2](https://www.behindthename.com/name/sloane/top/united-states/) The SSA's own change-in-popularity table records Sloane among the girls' names that improved from 2024 to 2025, moving 12 places from #153 to #141.[8](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/popularity_increase.html)
The name is now overwhelmingly feminine in practice. Nameberry reports that in a recorded year Sloane was given to nearly 2,000 baby girls in the US against 23 baby boys, and that boys' usage peaked at #3918 in 1972.[4](https://nameberry.com/name/sloane) Across all US registrations, 98.2% of bearers are female, with 404 boys registered since 1880 against 22,586 girls.[5](https://www.namecensus.com/first-names/sloane-meaning-and-history/) The name is also very recent as a first name: one analysis of SSA records finds 94% of everyone ever given the name was born in the last 25 years, with a median birth year of 2019.[9](https://findtheirname.com/name/sloane)
## Outside the United States
In [England and Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/england-and-wales), Sloane remains uncommon. One profile of ONS registration data counts 298 registrations across 16 recorded years from 2009 to 2024, with a peak of 59 babies in 2022 and 58 in the 2024 release, and estimates about 381 living people in the UK carry the name.[10](https://namecensus.co.uk/first-names/sloane-meaning-and-history) Another tracker, using ONS data, reports 46 babies named Sloane in England and Wales in 2025.[11](https://babynamesarena.com/name/sloane)
In France, the name has a longer but modest record: 1,195 children were named Sloane between 1900 and 2025, with a record of 65 births in 2004, and only 5 in 2025. Its strongest French departments are the overseas territories of Réunion (974), [Martinique](https://www.edgepedia.org/martinique) (972), and [Guadeloupe](https://www.edgepedia.org/guadeloupe) (971).[12](https://www.bebevallee.com/prenoms/sloane)
## Cultural associations
Beyond the baby-name registers, Sloane carries a distinct British meaning. The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines the noun "Sloane" as a young person, especially a woman, from a rich upper-class background, often living in a fashionable area of London, and dates the word to the 1970s, formed from Sloane Square in London.[6](https://slovar-vocab.com/english/oxford-learners-vocab/sloane-7001719.html) Nameberry links the given name's appeal to this association with Sloane Square and the Sloane Rangers, a social type associated with figures including [Diana, Princess of Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/diana-princess-of-wales) and [Catherine, Princess of Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-princess-of-wales).[4](https://nameberry.com/name/sloane)
## References
1. [Sloane, Behind the Name](https://www.behindthename.com/name/sloane)
2. [Popularity for the name Sloane, United States, Behind the Name](https://www.behindthename.com/name/sloane/top/united-states/)
3. [Sloan / Sloane entries, The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland](https://downloads.freemdict.com/%E5%B0%9A%E6%9C%AA%E6%95%B4%E7%90%86/%E5%85%B1%E4%BA%AB2020.5.11/content/1_english/3_Oxford%20series/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland/The%20Oxford%20Dictionary%20of%20Family%20Names%20in%20Britain%20and%20Ireland.pdf)
4. [Sloane Name Meaning, Origin & Popularity, Nameberry](https://nameberry.com/name/sloane)
5. [Sloane: Name Meaning, History, and Popularity, NameCensus](https://www.namecensus.com/first-names/sloane-meaning-and-history/)
6. [SLOANE, Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary (via slovar-vocab.com)](https://slovar-vocab.com/english/oxford-learners-vocab/sloane-7001719.html)
7. [Last name SLOAN: origin and meaning, Geneanet (DAFN2)](https://en.geneanet.org/surnames/SLOAN)
8. [Change in Popularity, Social Security Administration](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/popularity_increase.html)
9. [Sloane, name popularity and trend, Find Their Name](https://findtheirname.com/name/sloane)
10. [Sloane popularity: meaning, origin and UK ranking, NameCensus UK](https://namecensus.co.uk/first-names/sloane-meaning-and-history)
11. [Sloane, name popularity and ranking, Baby Names Arena](https://babynamesarena.com/name/sloane)
12. [Prénom Sloane : popularité et statistiques, Bébé Vallée (Insee data)](https://www.bebevallee.com/prenoms/sloane)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Languages and linguistics › Names and onomastics › Individual given names (by language and gender) › Celtic, Slavic, and world names*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license