Given name & surname · also Irish
Shea
“of admirable character”·“from the fairy palace”·“an admirable man”
Shea is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “of admirable character”, “from the fairy palace”, “an admirable man”, and “from the fairy fortress”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original IrishÓ Séaghdha
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “of admirable character”, “from the fairy palace”, “an admirable man”, and “from the fairy fortress”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Irish.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1950. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Shea through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 21,102
- 8,537 boys · 12,565 girls
- Most popular year
- 2005
- 531 babies
- 2025
- 312
- #1,159 for girls · #1,552 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +10%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 36% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 201 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,159 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 10.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 348 in 2005. It also appeared in 111 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (31). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 18,210 as a first name in 2020; 31,836 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Shea’s family of names
In English usage, Shea has a related form in Shay. Shea has a related form in Shay. Shea has a related form in Shae.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Shea
- Shea WhighamAmerican actorborn 1969
- Shea WeberCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1985
- Shea TheodoreCanadian ice hockey defencemanborn 1995
- Shea CharlesNorthern Ireland-English association football playerborn 2003
- Shea LaceyEnglish footballerborn 2007
- Shea SalinasAmerican soccer player (born 1986)
- Shea GroomAmerican soccer playerborn 1993
- Shea BucknerAmerican water polo playerborn 1986
- Shea SealsAmerican basketball player-coachborn 1975
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Shea, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Daley
“of the assembly”
36% boys · 64% girls
Devine
“resembling an ox” · “of the divine”
50% boys · 50% girls
Reilly
“an outgoing man”
46% boys · 54% girls
Kacey
“a vigilant man; one who is alert”
42% boys · 58% girls
Keelin
“a lively and bright-headed woman” · “a slender and beautiful woman”
56% boys · 44% girls
Kasey
“a vigilant woman” · “vigilant, wakeful”
44% boys · 56% girls
Karman
“the lord of the manor”
35% boys · 65% girls
Finley
“a fair-haired hero”
46% boys · 54% girls