Shala
A Hindu feminine name meaning "abode" or "hut".
Name Census estimates that about 1,930 living Americans carry the first name Shala. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shala today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shala births was 1991 (89 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shala. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 177,593 Americans
Peak year
1991
89 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2012 SSA rank
#16,538
Tracked since 1947
Popularity
Shala: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shala from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 670 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shala 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 Shala during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shalas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Shala, while Alabama, Washington, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shala
The name Shala has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE. In Sanskrit, the word "shala" means "abode" or "dwelling place". It is believed to have been derived from the root word "shri", which signifies prosperity, wealth, and auspiciousness.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Shala can be found in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, where it is mentioned as the name of a village or settlement. This ancient text, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE, is a significant part of Hindu mythology and literature.
In the Buddhist tradition, Shala is also the name of a disciple of the Buddha, who is believed to have lived during the 5th century BCE. According to historical accounts, Shala was a brahmin (a member of the priestly class) who later became a follower of the Buddha's teachings.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Shala. One of the most well-known was Shala, a 9th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry. He is credited with introducing the concept of sine and cosine functions, which are fundamental in the study of trigonometry.
Another notable figure was Shala, a 12th-century Kashmiri poet and mystic who wrote extensively on the philosophy of Shaivism, a branch of Hinduism. Her works, such as the "Shala Sataka", are still studied and revered by scholars and devotees alike.
In more recent times, Shala was the name of a 16th-century Indian queen who ruled over the Bahmani Sultanate, a medieval Muslim kingdom in the Deccan region of South India. She was known for her political acumen and her patronage of the arts and literature.
Shala was also the name of a 19th-century Indian freedom fighter who participated in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British East India Company. Her bravery and sacrifice for the cause of Indian independence have been documented in historical records.
Furthermore, Shala was the name of a 20th-century Indian classical dancer and choreographer who was instrumental in reviving and popularizing the traditional dance form of Bharatanatyam. Her contributions to the field of dance have been widely recognized and celebrated.
People
Shala + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shala 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
Shala: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shala?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,930 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shala 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 177,593 US residents.
Is Shala a common name?
We classify Shala as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,061 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shala most popular?
The single biggest year for Shala was 1991, when 89 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shala is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shala a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shala 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.