Recorded 1951–1995 Girls' name Peak 1970 321 births

Shelene — girls' name

321 babies named Shelene in U.S. Social Security records since 1951, with the highest year being 1970. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1950s401960s1101970s1341980s301990s7
1970s
Peak decade

42% of everyone ever named Shelene was born in this single decade.

1970
Single peak year

26 babies were named Shelene in 1970 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Shelene

The Social Security Administration has registered 321 babies named Shelene between 1951 and 1995, spanning 45 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Shelene currently falls outside the top 1,000 girls' names for 1995. The name reached its historical peak in 1970, when 26 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Shelene performed strongest in the 1970s, accumulating 134 births during that ten-year window. Across the 5 decades of recorded activity, Shelene shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 5 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Washington. In total, SSA state-level files list Shelene in 2 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Shelene in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 321 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Shelene at a glance

Last recorded 1995

Total births

321

Since 1951

45 years of records

Peak year

1970

26 births that year

Strongest decade: 1970s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 1995

Active since

1951

Recorded for 45 years

Last year on file: 1995

Shelene popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1995–1951

Last recorded 1995
Peak year (1970)
26
Annual births at peak — across 45 years of records
051015202530 199519811976197219681964195819521951 6

Shelene by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1970s
Peak decade
1970s
134 births that decade — 42% of Shelene's all-time total
1950s401960s1101970s1341980s301990s7

Shelene by state

Where Shelene concentrates geographically — total births since 1951

Geographically diffuse
Top 2 states by recorded births for the name Shelene
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
5 1.6%
#2 Washington
5 1.6%
California share of Shelene's total US births 1.6%
Even split

5 of 321 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 2 reporting states.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Shelene?
321 babies have been named Shelene since 1951. It was last recorded in 1995. The peak year was 1970 with 26 births.
When was Shelene most popular?
Shelene was most popular in the 1970s decade with 134 total births. The single peak year was 1970.
Where is Shelene most popular?
The top states for the name Shelene are California (5 births), Washington (5 births).
How long has the name Shelene been used?
Shelene has been recorded in Social Security data since 1951, spanning 45 years of data through 1995.
What names are similar to Shelene?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Sheila, Sherry, Shelby, Shelly, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1951–1995 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.