Sheilla
A feminine name of Irish origin meaning "blind" or "having vision problems".
Name Census estimates that about 352 living Americans carry the first name Sheilla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sheilla today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sheilla births was 1962 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sheilla. 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
352
~ 1 in 973,734 Americans
Peak year
1962
23 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
2001 SSA rank
#17,549
Tracked since 1941
Popularity
Sheilla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sheilla from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 131 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sheilla 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 Sheilla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sheillas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sheilla
The name Sheilla is a feminine given name of English origin, derived from the French name Céline or the Italian name Celina, which ultimately traces its roots back to the Latin word "caelestis," meaning "heavenly" or "celestial." It is believed to have emerged as a variant spelling of the name Sheila during the 19th century.
The earliest recorded use of the name Sheilla can be traced back to the late 1800s in England, where it was likely adopted as a variant of the more common spelling Sheila. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Sheilla Willoughby, an English author and poet born in 1878.
In the early 20th century, the name Sheilla gained some popularity, particularly in English-speaking countries. Notable individuals with this name include Sheilla Jones (1902-1978), an American stage and film actress who appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films during the 1920s and 1930s.
Another notable figure was Sheilla Gillespie (1918-1995), a British writer and journalist who worked as a war correspondent during World War II. Her memoirs, "One Woman's War," provided a firsthand account of her experiences covering the conflict.
Sheilla Burgess (1923-2010) was an Australian actress and singer who enjoyed a successful career on stage, television, and radio. She was particularly renowned for her performances in musicals and operettas.
In the literary world, Sheilla Burnford (1918-1984) was a Canadian author best known for her novel "The Incredible Journey," which was later adapted into a popular film. The book tells the story of two dogs and a cat who embark on a perilous journey across the Canadian wilderness.
While not as common as some other variants, the name Sheilla has maintained a presence throughout history, with individuals bearing this name making notable contributions in various fields, including literature, performing arts, journalism, and more.
People
Sheilla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sheilla 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
Sheilla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sheilla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 352 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sheilla 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 973,734 US residents.
Is Sheilla a common name?
We classify Sheilla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 450 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sheilla most popular?
The single biggest year for Sheilla was 1962, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sheilla is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sheilla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sheilla 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.