Girls' name · peaked in 1991
Shelby name popularity since 1925
163,297 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Shelby (91.1% girls, 8.9% boys). Half of them were born in 1994 or earlier, so the typical Shelby is about 32 years old in 2026. Shelby peaked in 1991 as the #33 name for girls, and it ranked #649 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 163,297
- Named Shelby, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #649
- for girls in 2025 (444 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 91.1% girls
- 148,738 girls · 14,559 boys
- Most popular in
- Kentucky
- 2.34× its national share
Peak year is the year Shelby made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Shelby births per year, 1925–2025
1991 was the biggest year for Shelby both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Steepest fall: Between 1938 and 1943, Shelby's share of baby girls fell by 77%, from 1 in 644 to 1 in 2,840.
- Fastest rise: Between 1986 and 1991, it became 10× more common, from 1 in 1,910 baby girls to 1 in 183.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Shelby's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Shelby.
Decade by decade
Babies named Shelby in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 49 | 579 | – |
| 1930s | 6,077 | 1,470 | #848 |
| 1940s | 4,895 | 1,642 | #388 |
| 1950s | 3,075 | 1,382 | #491 |
| 1960s | 3,267 | 1,375 | #577 |
| 1970s | 5,970 | 1,745 | #308 |
| 1980s | 7,881 | 1,613 | #281 |
| 1990s | 71,995 | 3,271 | #38 |
| 2000s | 31,310 | 835 | #117 |
| 2010s | 11,216 | 381 | #300 |
| 2020–25 | 3,003 | 266 | #649 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
40.4% of babies named Shelby from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Shelby is most popular
The index compares Shelby's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Shelby.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 2.34× | 6,218 |
| Tennessee | 1.95× | 6,519 |
| Arkansas | 1.82× | 2,969 |
| Oklahoma | 1.75× | 3,610 |
| Wyoming | 1.67× | 357 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Shelby and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Shelby (this page) | 148,738 | 1991 |
| Shelbie | 5,580 | 1992 |
| Shelbi | 5,496 | 1992 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Shelby's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Shelby.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Shelby (1991).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data