Shaela
A feminine name of English origin meaning "from the meadow of the hut".
Name Census estimates that about 1,081 living Americans carry the first name Shaela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shaela today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaela births was 2000 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaela. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 317,072 Americans
Peak year
2000
47 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2023 SSA rank
#17,228
Tracked since 1967
Popularity
Shaela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaela from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 393 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shaela by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Shaela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaelas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Utah, Texas recorded the most babies named Shaela, while Washington, Pennsylvania, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaela
The name Shaela is believed to have its origins in the Gaelic language, which is spoken in Scotland, Ireland, and parts of Canada and the United States. It is thought to be derived from the Irish word "saol," which means "life" or "world." The name is also sometimes spelled as Shayla or Sheila.
In ancient Irish mythology, Shaela was the name of a beautiful and powerful goddess associated with fertility, abundance, and the cycle of life. She was often depicted with flowing hair and holding a cornucopia, symbolizing her connection to the earth's bounty.
The earliest recorded use of the name Shaela dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared in Irish historical records and manuscripts. During the Middle Ages, the name was popular among Irish nobility and was often given to daughters as a symbol of hope and prosperity.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Shaela was Shaela Ní Dhomhnaill, born in 1267, who was a prominent Irish noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was renowned for her patronage of poets and musicians, and her legacy helped to preserve much of Ireland's rich cultural heritage.
Another notable figure with the name Shaela was Shaela MacNeill, born in 1534, who was a Scottish warrior and leader during the Scottish Clan Wars. She was known for her bravery and tactical skills on the battlefield, and her exploits were celebrated in traditional Scottish ballads and songs.
In the 17th century, Shaela O'Brien, born in 1612, was a renowned Irish poet and writer who wrote extensively about the struggles of the Irish people during the English colonization of Ireland. Her works were instrumental in preserving the Irish language and cultural traditions during a period of great turmoil.
In more recent history, Shaela Stokes, born in 1912, was an American civil rights activist and educator who fought tirelessly for racial equality and desegregation in the American South. She played a pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was a close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Shaela Blackwood, born in 1942, was a Jamaican author and playwright whose works explored themes of identity, race, and the Caribbean experience. Her plays, such as "Sugar Cane Sweet" and "The Ritual," were widely acclaimed and helped to bring Caribbean literature to a global audience.
People
Shaela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaela as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shaela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,081 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaela going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 317,072 US residents.
Is Shaela a common name?
We classify Shaela as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,115 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaela most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaela was 2000, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaela is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shaela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shaela in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.