Given name & surname · also Sanskrit
Sheela
“one of cool conduct and character”
Sheela is used as a given name and a surname. One Indian interpretation is “one of cool conduct and character.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Indian interpretation is “one of cool conduct and character.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Sanskrit.
How it developed
The name draws on Sanskrit sila, meaning “character, conduct”.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1943. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Sheela through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 679
- 0 boys · 679 girls
- Most popular year
- 1988
- 27 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2015. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 27 in 1988. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,081 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Sheela’s family of names
In English usage, Sheela has a related form in Sheila. Sheela has a related form in Sheetal. Sheela has a related form in Sheelah.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Sheela
- Sheela GowdaIndian artist (born 1957)
- Sheela KaurIndian actress born in 1989
- Sheela GautamMember of Parliament (1931-2019)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Sheela, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Shubha
“a lucky man”
>99% girls
Sweta
“a light-skinned woman; fair”
>99% girls
Shikha
“flame burning brightly” · “a fiery man”
>99% girls
Sharmila
“the joy of the house of King Pandu” · “bashful, modest”
>99% girls
Shefali
“night jasmine”
>99% girls
Neelam
“as precious as a sapphire”
>99% girls
Swati
>99% girls
Shamita
“a peacemaker”
>99% girls