Sheelagh
A feminine anglicized form of the Irish name Síle, derived from Cecilia.
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Sheelagh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sheelagh today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sheelagh births was 1962 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sheelagh. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Sheelagh with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sheelagh. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1962
7 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1962 SSA rank
#5,765
Tracked since 1962
Census
Sheelagh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 202 people with the first name Sheelagh, which placed it at #38,178 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
#38,178
National first-name rank
People counted
202
202 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
92.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sheelagh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sheelagh is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Black (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Sheelagh 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 Sheelagh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 186
- Black or African American3.5% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 4
- Two or more races2.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Sheelagh: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Sheelagh 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 Sheelagh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Sheelagh
The name Sheelagh originates from the Irish Gaelic language and culture. It is derived from the Old Irish Gaelic word "Sile", which means a blind or impaired person. The name first appeared in the early medieval period, around the 5th to 8th centuries CE, in Ireland and parts of Scotland.
Sheelagh is a variant spelling of the more common Irish name Sheila. Other similar spellings include Sheilah, Sheelah, and Sheilagh. The name likely gained popularity in Ireland during the early Christian era, as many Irish names were influenced by the spread of Christianity in the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sheelagh can be found in the Irish Annals, which were historical chronicles written by medieval Irish monks. These annals mention several individuals with the name, indicating its usage during that time period.
Throughout history, there have been notable individuals named Sheelagh. One example is Sheelagh Carville (1957-2021), an American disability rights activist and writer. Another is Sheelagh Grendon (1914-1995), a British actress and singer who appeared in films and stage productions during the mid-20th century.
Sheelagh Mary Rees (1929-2012) was a Welsh mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of numerical analysis. Sheelagh Mary Drudy (1942-2020) was an Irish sociologist and academic, known for her work in the areas of gender, education, and housing.
Additionally, Sheelagh Gillies (1909-2002) was a Scottish actress and singer who performed on stage and in films during the 20th century. She was best known for her roles in productions like The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Mouse That Roared.
The name Sheelagh has a rich history and cultural significance, particularly in Ireland and Scotland. Its origins can be traced back to the early medieval period, and it has been borne by notable individuals across various fields throughout the centuries.
People
Sheelagh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sheelagh 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
Sheelagh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sheelagh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sheelagh 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Sheelagh a common name?
We classify Sheelagh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sheelagh most popular?
The single biggest year for Sheelagh was 1962, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sheelagh is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sheelagh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 202 people with the name Sheelagh, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,178 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 Sheelagh 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 Sheelagh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sheelagh appears almost entirely female. Of the 204 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Sheelagh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sheelagh is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Black (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Sheelagh most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sheelagh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (186 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 Sheelagh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sheelagh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sheelagh 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 Sheelagh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sheelagh 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 Sheelagh 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 have the name Sheelagh?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Sheelagh at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.