Given name
Shelah
“missionary”·“emissary”
Shelah is used as a given name.
Original Hebrewשלח
Meaning & origin
What it means
As a biblical name, Shelah means “missionary” or “emissary.”
From biblical name research
Where it comes from
Shelah is a biblical name from Hebrew.
From biblical name research
How it developed
From the Hebrew verb shalah (שלח), “to send.”
From biblical name research
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1935. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Shelah appears in Genesis 10:24, Luke 3:35.
- Genesis 10:24
- Luke 3:35
- Genesis 38:5
- Numbers 26:20
From biblical name research
Shelah through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 510
- 0 boys · 510 girls
- Most popular year
- 1974
- 15 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 2008. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 550 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.
Shelah’s family of names
The ring: spellings.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
Similar names
If you love Shelah, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Shoshannah
“resembling a graceful white lily”
>99% girls
Telah
“fracture”
>99% girls
Tiria
“reverence” · “fear”
>99% girls
Marites
Marites is a feminine given name from Spanish, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Tagalog and Cebuano.
>99% girls
Mirjana
Mirjana is a feminine given name from Hebrew. It is used in Serbo-Croatian.
>99% girls
Abra
“father of a multitude (of nations)” · “father of a multitude; father of nations”
>99% girls
Tommi
Tommi is a masculine given name from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Finnish.
2% boys · 98% girls
Debbora
“bee”
>99% girls