Girls' name · peaked in 1962
Shelia name popularity since 1925
47,813 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Shelia. Half of them were born in 1961 or earlier, so the typical Shelia is about 65 years old in 2026. Shelia peaked in 1962 as the #173 name for girls, and fewer than 5 girls got it in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 47,813
- Named Shelia, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Unranked
- Fewer than 5 girls named Shelia in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.8% girls
- 47,702 girls · 111 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 4.99× its national share
Peak year is the year Shelia 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.
Shelia births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1959. Measured as a share of all babies, Shelia peaked in 1962.
- Fastest rise: Between 1942 and 1947, Shelia became 3.7× more common, from 1 in 8,890 baby girls to 1 in 2,380.
- Steepest fall: Between 1973 and 1978, its share of baby girls fell by 65%, from 1 in 2,110 to 1 in 6,100.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Shelia's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Shelia.
Decade by decade
Babies named Shelia 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 | 93 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 384 | 0 | #1,069 |
| 1940s | 4,013 | 0 | #407 |
| 1950s | 16,752 | 39 | #181 |
| 1960s | 18,444 | 60 | #182 |
| 1970s | 5,842 | 12 | #441 |
| 1980s | 1,353 | 0 | #1,156 |
| 1990s | 504 | 0 | #2,969 |
| 2000s | 190 | 0 | #8,797 |
| 2010s | 93 | 0 | #10,057 |
| 2020–25 | 34 | 0 | Under 5 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 girls got the name.
Generation fingerprint
63.5% of babies named Shelia from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Shelia is most popular
The index compares Shelia'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 Shelia.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 4.99× | 2,745 |
| Alabama | 4.58× | 3,673 |
| Louisiana | 3.99× | 3,245 |
| Tennessee | 3.78× | 3,608 |
| Arkansas | 3.21× | 1,496 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Shelia 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Shelia (this page) | 47,702 | 1962 |
| Sheila | 237,731 | 1963 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Shelia's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Shelia.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Shelia (1962).
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