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National Cheryl Day

A name day on December 30 honoring individuals named Cheryl and celebrating the modern name's cultural impact across entertainment, fashion, and music.

Wednesday

December 2026

Last updated March 21, 2026 · by the Holiday Calendar Team

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YEARLY DATEDecember 30

OBSERVED INUnited States

CATEGORYNames

ORIGIN

Community Origin

FOUNDING ENTITY

Not documented

FIRST OBSERVED

Not documented

HOW THE HOLIDAY CAME TO BE

No documented founder or formal establishment record has been identified. The observance appears in online holiday calendars from the early 2000s as part of the broader trend of informal name-day celebrations.

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INTRO

Introduction

PHOTO

No name in the twentieth century rose faster or fell harder than Cheryl. It did not exist before the 1920s, had no patron saint or literary precedent to lean on, and still managed to crack the American top 15 within three decades of its first recorded use. National Cheryl Day marks a name that wrote its own history from scratch.

The women who carried it became cultural touchstones in their own right, spanning the worlds of modeling, television, and rock music. For a name with zero historical pedigree, Cheryl produced an outsized roster of household names in barely half a century.

ORIGINS

Cheryl Day history

INTRODUCTION

Cheryl is one of the rare popular names with no ancient lineage. It has no biblical, mythological, or pre-modern literary source. The name appears to have been coined in the early twentieth century by blending the French endearment "chérie," meaning "darling," with the English naming suffix "-yl," a pattern also seen in names like Beryl and Meryl.

The name first surfaced in American records during the 1920s and climbed slowly through the 1930s and 1940s. By the postwar baby boom, it was surging: Cheryl reached number 13 on the SSA rankings in 1958, placing it among the most popular girls' names in the country alongside Susan, Linda, and Karen.

CHAPTER 01

The Cheryls Who Defined an Era

The name's cultural footprint expanded in the 1970s and 1980s through women who became household names. Cheryl Tiegs appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue in 1970 and again in 1975. In 1978, Time magazine featured her on its cover with the headline "All-American Model," one of the first times a fashion model received that level of mainstream editorial recognition.

That same decade, Cheryl Ladd stepped into one of the most-watched roles on American television. In 1977, she replaced Farrah Fawcett on Charlie's Angels, playing Kris Munroe for four seasons. Ladd also pursued a parallel music career, releasing three albums and performing the National Anthem at Super Bowl XIV in 1980.

CHAPTER 02

A Name in Decline

Like many mid-century names, Cheryl began a steep decline after the 1970s. By 2000, it had dropped out of the SSA top 500, and by 2024, only 37 babies received the name.

The average American named Cheryl is now approximately 63 years old, placing the name firmly in the baby boom generation. National Cheryl Day emerged on informal online holiday calendars in the early 2000s as part of the broader name-day trend, though no specific founder or establishment date has been documented.

TIMELINE

National Cheryl Day Timeline

Cheryl first appears as a name

The name Cheryl entered recorded use in the United States, likely coined by combining the French word cherie with the English suffix -yl.

Cheryl peaks at #13 nationwide

The Social Security Administration recorded Cheryl as the 13th most popular name for baby girls, its highest ranking in American history.

Cheryl Tiegs lands first SI cover

Model Cheryl Tiegs appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, beginning a run that would make her one of the most recognized faces in American fashion.

Cheryl Ladd joins Charlie's Angels

Cheryl Ladd replaced Farrah Fawcett as Kris Munroe on ABC's Charlie's Angels, remaining a lead cast member for four seasons until the show's cancellation in 1981.

Sheryl Crow wins three Grammys

Sheryl Crow won Record of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her debut single 'All I Wanna Do,' launching a career that would earn nine Grammys total.

Only 37 babies named Cheryl

The name fell to 3,949th in the Social Security Administration's annual rankings, with just 37 girls receiving it that year.

GET INVOLVED

How to Celebrate National Cheryl Day

Watch a classic Charlie's Angels episode

Stream episodes from seasons 2 through 5 to see Cheryl Ladd in her breakout role as Kris Munroe. Her casting in 1977 drew one of the largest audience shares in 1970s network television and helped define the action-drama format.

EXPLORE

Explore Cheryl Tiegs' modeling archive

Browse the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit archive to see the covers and editorial shoots that made Tiegs one of the first supermodels. Her Swimsuit Issue appearances in 1970 and 1975 helped define the crossover between fashion and sports media.

LISTEN

Listen to Sheryl Crow's discography

Start with Tuesday Night Music Club, the 1993 debut album that produced the Grammy-winning hit 'All I Wanna Do.' Her catalog spans rock, country, and folk across twelve studio albums.

CHART

Chart the name's rise and fall on the SSA site

Use the Social Security Administration's baby names explorer to track Cheryl's climb to number 13 in 1958 and its decline to below the top 3,000 by the 2020s. Compare it against sibling names like Sharon, Karen, and Donna.

SEND

Send a year-end message to a Cheryl in your life

The holiday falls one day before New Year's Eve, making it a natural moment to reach out to a friend, relative, or colleague named Cheryl. A personal note or phone call acknowledging the name's mid-century charm carries more meaning than a generic holiday greeting.

WHY THIS DAY MATTERS

Why We Love National Cheryl Day

It tracks a dramatic generational naming cycle

Cheryl went from nonexistence to the national top 15 in roughly 30 years, then fell from the top 15 to near-extinction in another 60. Few names illustrate the full arc of an American naming trend as sharply.

It celebrates a purely invented name

Cheryl is one of the few widely popular American names with no traceable ancient or medieval origin. Its emergence in the 1920s makes it a case study in how modern naming conventions can generate entirely new cultural identities without historical precedent.

It connects to a Grammy-winning musical legacy

The name's variant Sheryl belongs to Sheryl Crow, who has won nine Grammy Awards and sold over 50 million albums worldwide. Her 2023 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame cemented the name's association with American rock and pop history.

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