Shelton
Shelton was given to 21 boys in 2025, #4,836 among boys’ names; 12,145 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 8,270 Americans named Shelton and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (68% of everyone recorded); the median is 46 years old and half are between 30 and 62.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Shelton by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Shelton mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Shelton is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “deck, shelf” (scylfe) and “town” (tun).
From Old English scylfe (“deck, shelf”) + tun (“town”). Doublet of Skelton.
/ˈʃɛltən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Shelton?
#4,836 among boys’ names, 2025
Shelton fell from #2,206 in 2015 to #4,836 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 32.3 to 12.3 per million.
185 babies in 1972, the peak
Shelton peaked in 1972, when 185 babies were given it (179 boys, #598 among boys’ names). The 21 births of 2025 are 11% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 21 | #4,836 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 21 | #4,852 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 25 | #4,317 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 24 | #4,413 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 29 | #3,801 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 32 | #3,477 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 31 | #3,621 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 25 | #4,196 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 47 | #2,665 | 0.03 |
| 2016 | 40 | #2,980 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 62 | #2,206 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 55 | #2,365 | 0.03 |
| 2013 | 58 | #2,246 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 62 | #2,168 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 73 | #1,919 | 0.04 |
| 2010 | 60 | #2,206 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 66 | #2,094 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 73 | #1,964 | 0.04 |
| 2007 | 83 | #1,779 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 98 | #1,533 | 0.05 |
| 2005 | 95 | #1,510 | 0.05 |
| 2004 | 103 | #1,390 | 0.05 |
| 2003 | 108 | #1,302 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 109 | #1,250 | 0.06 |
| 2001 | 93 | #1,373 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 106 | #1,248 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 112 | #1,168 | 0.06 |
| 1998 | 112 | #1,129 | 0.06 |
| 1997 | 124 | #1,035 | 0.07 |
| 1996 | 131 | #971 | 0.07 |
| 1995 | 123 | #1,001 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 137 | #944 | 0.07 |
| 1993 | 159 | #836 | 0.08 |
| 1992 | 145 | #876 | 0.07 |
| 1991 | 160 | #814 | 0.08 |
| 1990 | 155 | #817 | 0.08 |
| 1989 | 149 | #810 | 0.07 |
| 1988 | 150 | #770 | 0.08 |
| 1987 | 132 | #811 | 0.07 |
| 1986 | 104 | #895 | 0.06 |
| 1985 | 117 | #830 | 0.06 |
| 1984 | 116 | #814 | 0.06 |
| 1983 | 116 | #812 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 118 | #818 | 0.07 |
| 1981 | 123 | #790 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 121 | #798 | 0.07 |
| 1979 | 147 | #713 | 0.09 |
| 1978 | 136 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1977 | 141 | #718 | 0.09 |
| 1976 | 155 | #659 | 0.10 |
| 1975 | 168 | #624 | 0.11 |
| 1974 | 144 | #681 | 0.09 |
| 1973 | 133 | #697 | 0.09 |
| 1972 | 179 | #598 | 0.11 |
| 1971 | 166 | #640 | 0.09 |
| 1970 | 142 | #699 | 0.08 |
| 1969 | 161 | #619 | 0.09 |
| 1968 | 138 | #648 | 0.08 |
| 1967 | 142 | #632 | 0.08 |
| 1966 | 150 | #608 | 0.08 |
| 1965 | 156 | #615 | 0.08 |
| 1964 | 155 | #624 | 0.08 |
| 1963 | 151 | #639 | 0.07 |
| 1962 | 142 | #650 | 0.07 |
| 1961 | 141 | #659 | 0.07 |
| 1960 | 147 | #644 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 144 | #642 | 0.07 |
| 1958 | 161 | #606 | 0.08 |
| 1957 | 130 | #669 | 0.06 |
| 1956 | 151 | #620 | 0.07 |
| 1955 | 146 | #614 | 0.07 |
| 1954 | 127 | #649 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 129 | #628 | 0.07 |
| 1952 | 125 | #629 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 124 | #633 | 0.07 |
| 1950 | 124 | #619 | 0.07 |
| 1949 | 131 | #596 | 0.07 |
| 1948 | 132 | #582 | 0.08 |
| 1947 | 121 | #623 | 0.07 |
| 1946 | 88 | #694 | 0.05 |
| 1945 | 106 | #591 | 0.08 |
| 1944 | 106 | #597 | 0.08 |
| 1943 | 101 | #638 | 0.07 |
| 1942 | 103 | #624 | 0.07 |
| 1941 | 119 | #549 | 0.10 |
| 1940 | 100 | #596 | 0.09 |
| 1939 | 94 | #603 | 0.08 |
| 1938 | 91 | #627 | 0.08 |
| 1937 | 115 | #544 | 0.11 |
| 1936 | 94 | #599 | 0.09 |
| 1935 | 97 | #587 | 0.09 |
| 1934 | 77 | #696 | 0.07 |
| 1933 | 72 | #717 | 0.07 |
| 1932 | 74 | #726 | 0.07 |
| 1931 | 53 | #886 | 0.05 |
| 1930 | 67 | #793 | 0.06 |
| 1929 | 72 | #750 | 0.07 |
| 1928 | 66 | #812 | 0.06 |
| 1927 | 85 | #708 | 0.08 |
| 1926 | 72 | #764 | 0.06 |
| 1925 | 81 | #722 | 0.07 |
| 1924 | 98 | #652 | 0.09 |
| 1923 | 62 | #871 | 0.06 |
| 1922 | 78 | #753 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 84 | #721 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 79 | #737 | 0.07 |
| 1919 | 77 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 78 | #727 | 0.08 |
| 1917 | 77 | #691 | 0.08 |
| 1916 | 45 | #963 | 0.05 |
| 1915 | 58 | #802 | 0.07 |
| 1914 | 51 | #743 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 36 | #802 | 0.07 |
| 1912 | 23 | #965 | 0.05 |
| 1911 | 7 | #1,514 | 0.03 |
| 1910 | 26 | #567 | 0.13 |
| 1909 | 16 | #708 | 0.10 |
| 1908 | 18 | #626 | 0.12 |
| 1907 | 6 | #1,323 | 0.04 |
| 1906 | 10 | #846 | 0.08 |
| 1905 | 14 | #660 | 0.11 |
| 1904 | 11 | #756 | 0.09 |
| 1903 | 8 | #900 | 0.07 |
| 1902 | 7 | #1,006 | 0.06 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,042 | 0.06 |
| 1900 | 7 | #1,148 | 0.05 |
| 1899 | 9 | #773 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 8 | #880 | 0.07 |
| 1897 | 5 | #1,204 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,084 | 0.05 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,066 | 0.05 |
| 1894 | 9 | #779 | 0.08 |
| 1893 | 7 | #895 | 0.06 |
| 1890 | 5 | #1,142 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 5 | #1,161 | 0.04 |
| 1887 | 10 | #624 | 0.10 |
| 1886 | 6 | #952 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 8 | #756 | 0.07 |
| 1884 | 7 | #835 | 0.06 |
| 1883 | 8 | #717 | 0.08 |
| 1882 | 10 | #644 | 0.09 |
| 1880 | 7 | #797 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Shelton a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 12,145 Americans recorded as Shelton, 1% are girls and 99% boys. In 2025 it went to 21 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Shelton: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Shelton, and how old are they?
8,270 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 68% of the 12,145 Americans ever recorded as Shelton. The median Shelton alive today is 46 years old; half are between 30 and 62.
The 2020 Census counted 7,246 people named Shelton (250 women and girls, 6,996 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 8,749 born in the U.S. The Census count is 17% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 350 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,730 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,140 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,080 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 471 |
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 Shelton born?
The states with the most babies named Shelton are North Carolina, Louisiana and Texas, with 45% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Louisiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 1,613 | not ranked | 4.6× |
| Louisiana | 1,081 | not ranked | 4.6× |
| Texas | 770 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Florida | 585 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Georgia | 566 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Mississippi | 553 | not ranked | 3.2× |
| Virginia | 551 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| South Carolina | 339 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| California | 325 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| New York | 293 | not ranked | 0.3× |
Where Shelton is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Shelton is most over-represented in North Carolina: since 1910 it was given 4.6 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 boys’ 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 Shelton with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Shelton
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 Shelton and names like it
- Compare Shelton and ByronBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sShelton peaked in 1972.
- North Carolina’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Shelton since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Shelton: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1972The year the most babies were named Shelton.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Shelton alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with SMost given first.