# Sheila (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/sheila/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Irish |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈʃiːlə/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Shelagh, Shelia |
| US babies named this | 239,422 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 648 / 238,774 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 219, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Anglicized spelling of Irish Síle, equivalent to Caelia. Doublet of Celia.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 183 | 1,291 |
| 2012 | 145 | 1,528 |
| 2013 | 145 | 1,523 |
| 2014 | 162 | 1,413 |
| 2015 | 124 | 1,708 |
| 2016 | 114 | 1,826 |
| 2017 | 104 | 1,941 |
| 2018 | 96 | 2,045 |
| 2019 | 90 | 2,105 |
| 2020 | 131 | 1,605 |
| 2021 | 115 | 1,779 |
| 2022 | 127 | 1,667 |
| 2023 | 102 | 1,942 |
| 2024 | 97 | 2,031 |
| 2025 | 65 | 2,686 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 9 | 3,569 |
| 1973 | 9 | 3,655 |
| 1974 | 11 | 3,295 |
| 1975 | 8 | 4,253 |
| 1976 | 12 | 3,236 |
| 1977 | 8 | 4,519 |
| 1978 | 7 | 4,976 |
| 1979 | 5 | 6,930 |
| 1980 | 5 | 7,139 |
| 1981 | 7 | 5,406 |
| 1982 | 6 | 6,278 |
| 1983 | 5 | 7,173 |
| 1986 | 6 | 6,602 |
| 1988 | 7 | 6,318 |
| 1989 | 8 | 6,131 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5 | 4,049 |
| 2012 | 6 | 3,681 |
| 2013 | 10 | 2,460 |
| 2014 | 5 | 4,003 |
| 2015 | 3 | 5,730 |
| 2016 | 10 | 2,547 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3,583 |
| 2018 | 5 | 3,985 |
| 2019 | 3 | 5,591 |
| 2020 | 8 | 2,843 |
| 2021 | 7 | 3,192 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4,645 |
| 2023 | 4 | 4,709 |
| 2024 | 5 | 4,192 |
| 2025 | 7 | 3,333 |

## In other languages

- Irish: Síle
- Japanese: シェイラ, シイラ
- Portuguese: Sheila
- Scottish Gaelic: Sìle

## People named Sheila

- Sheila Jackson Lee, American lawyer and politician (1950–2024)
- Sheila Jordan, American jazz singer (1928–2025)
- Sheila E., American singer and percussionist (born 1957)
- Sheila Young, American speed skater and racing cyclist
- Sheila Hancock, British actress
- Sheila McCarthy, Canadian actress
- Sheila Widnall, American aerospace researcher and educator
- Sheila Jeffreys, British feminist
- Sheila Echols, American athletics competitor (born 1964)
- Sheila Fitzpatrick, Australian and American historian
- Sheila Kelley, American actress
- Sheila Vand, American actress and performance artist

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.