Sheridan

 

Old Hollywood actress Ann Sheridan

Sheridan is an Irish Gaelic surname meaning "seeker; peaceful" of which a playwright and Civil War general share as a namesake. In 1996 the masculine surname made it to the top 1000 list for girls (I wonder if the potential nicknames Sherry and/or Dani made that possible?), dropped off between 1998 and 1999, then came back between 2000 and 2002. It had been in the boys top 1000 in the 1890's and 1930's/40's for just a few short years, when Dan was probably the go-to nickname. As this was a masculine surname, much like Grayson, I have a hard time labeling it as "unisex." So, even though it is primarily used for girls now (9 boys in 2011 vs 48 girls), and isn't used nearly enough to firmly determine male/female (these are the lowest rankings since the peak in 1997), I am putting this one on the boys side.