About the Sly Surname

The spelling Sly grew out of Sleigh, an English surname with a long paper trail. At root, the name means “One who was dexterous or skilled”.

A variant of Sleigh

Before spelling was fixed, Sleigh was also written Sly. Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists. The same family of names includes Slye.

According to the 2010 US Census, the Sly surname had 3,205 bearers.

Family crest and blazon

There is no single Sly family crest for every bearer. Herald Lab researches the arms historically associated with the name and explains whose they were.

Get the complete Sly report, with a museum-style coat of arms.