Shealee
Variant of Sheila, a feminine given name of Celtic origin meaning "blind" or "from the fairy folk".
Name Census estimates that about 232 living Americans carry the first name Shealee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shealee today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shealee births was 2007 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shealee. 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
232
~ 1 in 1,477,389 Americans
Peak year
2007
16 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2023 SSA rank
#17,248
Tracked since 1988
Census
Shealee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 236 people with the first name Shealee, which placed it at #34,545 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#34,545
National first-name rank
People counted
236
236 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shealee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shealee is White at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.6%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shealee described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Shealee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.2% · 187
- Hispanic or Latino7.6% · 18
- Two or more races6.4% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 5
- Black or African American1.3% · 3
Popularity
Shealee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shealee from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 119 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shealee 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 Shealee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shealee
The name Shealee has its origins in the ancient Celtic language and culture. It is believed to be derived from the Old Irish word "sioghail," meaning "fairy-like" or "otherworldly." The name was particularly popular among the Gaelic tribes that inhabited parts of modern-day Ireland and Scotland during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shealee can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In the year 1021, a woman named Shealee ní Mhathghamhna is mentioned as being a skilled herbalist and healer in the kingdom of Mide (modern-day County Westmeath).
Throughout the centuries, the name Shealee has been associated with various historical figures. In the 12th century, Shealee of Kincardine was a renowned Scottish noblewoman known for her patronage of the arts and her involvement in the court of King William the Lion.
During the Renaissance period, Shealee Fitzgerald (1560-1625) was an Irish poet and scholar who wrote extensively on Celtic mythology and folklore. Her works helped preserve many ancient Irish legends and traditions.
In the 18th century, Shealee O'Donnell (1720-1782) was a prominent Irish rebel who fought against British rule in Ireland. She is celebrated as a symbol of Irish resistance and national pride.
Another notable figure was Shealee MacLeod (1855-1923), a Scottish suffragette and advocate for women's rights. She played a significant role in the campaign for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom and was arrested multiple times for her activism.
While the name Shealee has its roots in Celtic cultures, it has transcended geographical boundaries and has been adopted by various communities around the world. Its association with fairy-like qualities and otherworldly themes has contributed to its enduring appeal and romanticized image.
People
Shealee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shealee 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
Shealee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shealee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 232 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shealee 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 1,477,389 US residents.
Is Shealee a common name?
We classify Shealee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 237 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shealee most popular?
The single biggest year for Shealee was 2007, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shealee is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shealee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 236 people with the name Shealee, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,545 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Shealee in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Shealee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shealee leans strongly female. 237 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Shealee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shealee is White at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.6%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Shealee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shealee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.2% (187 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Shealee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shealee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shealee 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.
Is Shealee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shealee in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Shealee can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are named Shealee?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Shealee at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.