Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Shelia is a form of Sheila. Sheila comes from Irish.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Shelia through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 47,891
- 111 boys · 47,780 girls
- Most popular year
- 1959
- 2,293 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −50%
- Cooling
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 7 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,283 in 1959. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 33,324 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.
Shelia’s family of names
In English usage, Shelia has a related form in Sheila.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Shelia
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Shelia, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Shelly
“from the bank's meadow” · “from the meadow's ledge”
>99% girls
Sherry
“one who is greatly loved; a darling”
>99% girls
Delia
“a good-hearted woman; a woman of honesty” · “born of the nobility”
>99% girls
Alesia
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Tamera
“date palm”
>99% girls
Luanna
“one who is content and enjoys life”
>99% girls
Adelita
“of the nobility; serene; of good humor”
>99% girls
Angelia
“messenger” · “a heavenly messenger; an angel”
>99% girls