A comparison is made between the observed distribution of sunspot cycle periods and distributions based on uniform, normal, and bimodal distributions. The bimodal distribution, composed of short- and long-period cycles, each normally distributed about its respective mean, is found to best describe the observed distribution. Compared to the normal distribution for the most reliably determined cycles (cycles 8--20), the bimodal distribution has a residual (sum of squares of differences) that is about 86% smaller. Means for short- and long-period cycles are estimated to be 122¿4 months and 140¿5 months, respectively. ¿American Geophysical Union 1987