The first, to the best of our knowledge, implementation of optical single-sideband modulation (OSSBM) in coherent Doppler lidar (CDL) is demonstrated for use with short pulse widths. It is shown that by providing more bandwidth through a higher intermediate frequency (IF), the OSSBM CDL addresses cross talk between the IF and baseband spectra, reducing spectral distortion. Ultimately, a 4-ns pulse width with a 1-GHz IF is achieved and the effectiveness of the OSSBM CDL is confirmed through velocimetry experiments. This represents a several fold improvement over current fiber-based CDL implementations.