Sheila
Sheila was given to 65 girls in 2025, #2,686 among girls’ names; 239,422 Americans have been recorded with it since 1907 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 188,000 Americans named Sheila and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (78% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 57 and 72.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Sheila by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Sheila mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Sheila is “a female given name from Irish, popular in the UK from the 1920s to the 1950s; variant forms Shelagh, Sheelagh, Sheilagh, Sheela, Sile.”
Anglicized spelling of Irish Síle, equivalent to Cecilia. Doublet of Cecilia.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Sheila?
#2,686 among girls’ names, 2025
Sheila fell from #1,708 in 2015 to #2,686 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 69.5 to 40.4 per million.
8,807 babies in 1962, the peak
Sheila peaked in 1962, when 8,807 babies were given it (8,778 girls, #52 among girls’ names). The 65 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 65 | #2,686 | 0.04 |
| 2024 | 97 | #2,031 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 102 | #1,942 | 0.06 |
| 2022 | 127 | #1,667 | 0.08 |
| 2021 | 115 | #1,779 | 0.07 |
| 2020 | 131 | #1,605 | 0.08 |
| 2019 | 90 | #2,105 | 0.05 |
| 2018 | 96 | #2,045 | 0.06 |
| 2017 | 104 | #1,941 | 0.06 |
| 2016 | 114 | #1,826 | 0.06 |
Every recorded year (119)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 124 | #1,708 | 0.07 |
| 2014 | 162 | #1,413 | 0.09 |
| 2013 | 145 | #1,523 | 0.08 |
| 2012 | 145 | #1,528 | 0.08 |
| 2011 | 183 | #1,291 | 0.10 |
| 2010 | 186 | #1,283 | 0.10 |
| 2009 | 170 | #1,395 | 0.09 |
| 2008 | 224 | #1,149 | 0.12 |
| 2007 | 271 | #990 | 0.14 |
| 2006 | 279 | #941 | 0.15 |
| 2005 | 240 | #1,018 | 0.13 |
| 2004 | 315 | #803 | 0.17 |
| 2003 | 303 | #819 | 0.17 |
| 2002 | 340 | #723 | 0.19 |
| 2001 | 383 | #658 | 0.21 |
| 2000 | 343 | #689 | 0.19 |
| 1999 | 353 | #653 | 0.20 |
| 1998 | 348 | #663 | 0.20 |
| 1997 | 309 | #699 | 0.18 |
| 1996 | 378 | #606 | 0.22 |
| 1995 | 395 | #583 | 0.22 |
| 1994 | 419 | #563 | 0.23 |
| 1993 | 543 | #464 | 0.30 |
| 1992 | 642 | #401 | 0.35 |
| 1991 | 633 | #406 | 0.34 |
| 1990 | 626 | #413 | 0.33 |
| 1989 | 658 | #385 | 0.36 |
| 1988 | 711 | #349 | 0.40 |
| 1987 | 800 | #306 | 0.46 |
| 1986 | 979 | #261 | 0.57 |
| 1985 | 1,012 | #251 | 0.59 |
| 1984 | 908 | #267 | 0.54 |
| 1983 | 946 | #249 | 0.57 |
| 1982 | 1,099 | #231 | 0.65 |
| 1981 | 1,214 | #217 | 0.73 |
| 1980 | 1,214 | #214 | 0.73 |
| 1979 | 1,368 | #195 | 0.85 |
| 1978 | 1,414 | #184 | 0.92 |
| 1977 | 1,656 | #163 | 1.1 |
| 1976 | 1,871 | #143 | 1.3 |
| 1975 | 2,099 | #134 | 1.4 |
| 1974 | 2,438 | #121 | 1.7 |
| 1973 | 2,999 | #101 | 2.1 |
| 1972 | 3,394 | #90 | 2.2 |
| 1971 | 4,333 | #81 | 2.6 |
| 1970 | 4,937 | #75 | 2.8 |
| 1969 | 5,245 | #68 | 3.1 |
| 1968 | 5,730 | #59 | 3.5 |
| 1967 | 6,326 | #56 | 3.8 |
| 1966 | 7,208 | #51 | 4.3 |
| 1965 | 7,904 | #50 | 4.5 |
| 1964 | 8,471 | #51 | 4.5 |
| 1963 | 8,706 | #50 | 4.5 |
| 1962 | 8,778 | #52 | 4.5 |
| 1961 | 7,805 | #59 | 3.9 |
| 1960 | 7,905 | #56 | 3.9 |
| 1959 | 7,984 | #52 | 3.9 |
| 1958 | 7,291 | #59 | 3.6 |
| 1957 | 7,763 | #58 | 3.8 |
| 1956 | 7,872 | #55 | 3.9 |
| 1955 | 7,661 | #57 | 3.9 |
| 1954 | 7,202 | #60 | 3.7 |
| 1953 | 6,965 | #60 | 3.7 |
| 1952 | 6,217 | #64 | 3.4 |
| 1951 | 5,897 | #69 | 3.3 |
| 1950 | 5,322 | #70 | 3.1 |
| 1949 | 4,774 | #76 | 2.8 |
| 1948 | 5,022 | #71 | 3.0 |
| 1947 | 5,095 | #73 | 2.9 |
| 1946 | 4,706 | #70 | 3.0 |
| 1945 | 3,178 | #89 | 2.4 |
| 1944 | 2,665 | #103 | 2.0 |
| 1943 | 3,063 | #92 | 2.2 |
| 1942 | 2,973 | #94 | 2.2 |
| 1941 | 2,341 | #110 | 1.9 |
| 1940 | 1,923 | #130 | 1.7 |
| 1939 | 1,957 | #125 | 1.8 |
| 1938 | 1,784 | #136 | 1.6 |
| 1937 | 1,573 | #142 | 1.5 |
| 1936 | 1,312 | #157 | 1.3 |
| 1935 | 1,326 | #151 | 1.3 |
| 1934 | 781 | #222 | 0.75 |
| 1933 | 737 | #226 | 0.73 |
| 1932 | 609 | #251 | 0.57 |
| 1931 | 538 | #266 | 0.51 |
| 1930 | 341 | #364 | 0.30 |
| 1929 | 332 | #368 | 0.30 |
| 1928 | 242 | #434 | 0.21 |
| 1927 | 233 | #456 | 0.20 |
| 1926 | 210 | #479 | 0.18 |
| 1925 | 214 | #478 | 0.18 |
| 1924 | 162 | #576 | 0.13 |
| 1923 | 139 | #626 | 0.12 |
| 1922 | 120 | #664 | 0.10 |
| 1921 | 110 | #707 | 0.09 |
| 1920 | 91 | #767 | 0.08 |
| 1919 | 69 | #841 | 0.06 |
| 1918 | 76 | #824 | 0.07 |
| 1917 | 59 | #902 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 45 | #1,039 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 42 | #1,039 | 0.04 |
| 1914 | 31 | #1,096 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 18 | #1,398 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 20 | #1,214 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 18 | #1,067 | 0.04 |
| 1910 | 10 | #1,614 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 13 | #1,204 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 11 | #1,340 | 0.03 |
| 1907 | 9 | #1,492 | 0.03 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Sheila a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Sheila has been given almost only to girls: 648 boys in 119 years of records.
Girls and boys named Sheila: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Sheila, and how old are they?
188,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 78% of the 239,422 Americans ever recorded as Sheila. The median Sheila alive today is 64 years old; half are between 57 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 202,159 people named Sheila (201,996 women and girls, 163 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 202,168 born in the U.S. The Census count matches that prediction to within 1%.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 11,200 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 104,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 55,200 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 11,600 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,340 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,460 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Sheila born?
The states with the most babies named Sheila are New York, California and Illinois, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 21,442 | #2,380 | 1.0× |
| California | 16,628 | #1,824 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 13,597 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Texas | 11,779 | #3,728 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 11,547 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 10,309 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 9,841 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Massachusetts | 8,858 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| North Carolina | 8,179 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Georgia | 7,062 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Sheila is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Sheila is most over-represented in District of Columbia: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Sheila with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 389,959 babies since 1880, Sheila is the most given (61% of them). In 2025 it was given to 65 of their 164 babies (40%), the second most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Sheila
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Sheila and names like it
- Compare Sheila and ShellyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sSheila peaked in 1962.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Sheila since 1910.
- Irish namesWiktionary’s origin for Sheila: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1962The year the most babies were named Sheila.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Sheila alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with SMost given first.