2026 data SSA national-level Updated each release

Names: S

Reference page sourced from SSA's national release. Cross-checked against the upstream files and refreshed each release.

7,564 names starting with "S"

What the Data Says About Names Starting with S

The Social Security Administration's national baby-name archive contains 7,564 distinct names beginning with the letter S, out of roughly 104,000 total names tracked since 1880. On this page (sorted by name), the leading entry is Shellyann with 76 cumulative births. Within the 50 names on this page, 13 are classified as boys' names and 37 as girls' names in SSA records, reflecting the overall letter-level split for S. Every name shown has appeared five or more times in at least one year of SSA data, rarer spellings fall below the disclosure threshold and are not included.

Of the 50 names displayed, 7 currently rank within SSA's annual top 1,000 for their gender, making them actively popular rather than historical-only entries. Combined, these 50 names represent 27,325 births across all years of the SSA archive. Letter-level patterns reveal broader naming conventions: some letters (J, M, S) dominate both boys' and girls' name distributions, while others (U, Y, Q, X, Z) are comparatively rare starting letters in English naming traditions. The distribution of names starting with S reflects both the English-language convention inherited from the Anglo-American majority and the steady contribution of international names (Spanish, Arabic, Asian, African origins) added to the U.S. naming pool over the past century.

All figures on this page derive from publicly released SSA baby-name files, which record the first name on every Social Security card application for U.S. births. Names are tracked by exact spelling, so homophones and near-variants (Sarah and Sara, Aiden and Ayden) count as separate entries; combining them would substantially change the ordering. Peak-year and rank data are drawn from the same SSA files and reflect name-year records with five or more occurrences. This listing is paginated in groups of 50 - across all letter-S names, there are 152 total pages at this sort order. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute naming, legal, or genealogical advice.

Showing 4,251–4,300 of 7,564

Name Gender Total Births
Shellyann Girl 76
Shellye Girl 174
Shelma Girl 77
Shelon Girl 20
Shelonda Girl 280
Shelsea Girl 658
Shelsey Girl 224
Shelsie Girl 88
Shelsy Girl 478
Shelton Boy 11,973
Shelton Girl 172
Shelva Girl 1,117
Shelva Boy 14
Shelvey Girl 46
Shelvia Girl 400
Shelvie Boy 6
Shelvie Girl 294
Shelvin Boy 59
Shelvy Boy 64
Shelvy Girl 333
Shely Girl 31
Shelyn Girl 11
Shem Boy 750
Shem Girl 5
Shema Girl 35
Shema Boy 20
Shemaiah Girl 269
Shemaiah Boy 12
Shemar Boy 2,376
Shemar Girl 6
Shemari Girl 5
Shemari Boy 11
Shemariah Girl 34
Shemarr Boy 11
Shemeca Girl 91
Shemeeka Girl 59
Shemeika Girl 186
Shemeka Girl 1,563
Shemekia Girl 333
Shemia Girl 142
Shemiah Girl 160
Shemica Girl 201
Shemicka Girl 74
Shemika Girl 1,454
Shemira Girl 18
Shemuel Boy 137
Shemya Girl 33
Shen Boy 56
Shena Girl 2,356
Shenae Girl 333

Nearby Letters

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Compare letter-S names: Shellyann vs Shellye → or pick any two names →

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

Source: SSA Baby Names Methodology, names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a year are excluded for privacy.