Shelbia
A feminine name of African origin meaning "girl from the sheltering village".
Name Census estimates that about 46 living Americans carry the first name Shelbia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shelbia today is around 85 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shelbia births was 1937 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shelbia. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Shelbia is about 85 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Shelbias were born before 1951.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shelbia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
46
~ 1 in 7,451,181 Americans
Peak year
1937
31 babies that year
Average age
85
years old
1954 SSA rank
#6,499
Tracked since 1936
Popularity
Shelbia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shelbia from the 1930s through to the 1950s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 84 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shelbia 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 Shelbia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shelbias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shelbia
The name Shelbia is an anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shelbiyah, which originated in ancient Israel around the 5th century BCE. The root of the name is believed to be shel, meaning "peace," and bi, meaning "my." Thus, the name Shelbia can be interpreted as "my peace" or "peaceful one."
In the Old Testament, there is a reference to a woman named Shelbiyah in the Book of Ezra, where she is listed among the Israelites who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity. This suggests that the name was in use during the period of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, which lasted from around 516 BCE to 70 CE.
The earliest recorded individual with the name Shelbia was a Jewish scholar and poet who lived in the 11th century CE in Spain. Known as Shelbia ben Shlomo, he was renowned for his contributions to Hebrew poetry and for his commentary on the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism.
Another notable figure with the name Shelbia was Shelbia ben Yaakov, a 13th-century Jewish philosopher and theologian from Provence, France. He wrote extensively on the reconciliation of Aristotelian philosophy with Jewish religious teachings, and his works were influential in the development of medieval Jewish thought.
In the 15th century, there was a Jewish mystic and Kabbalist named Shelbia ben Yitzhak, who lived in Safed, Palestine. He was known for his teachings on the Zohar, a central text of the Kabbalah, and his interpretations of Jewish mystical traditions.
During the 16th century, a prominent rabbi named Shelbia ben Avraham lived in Italy. He was a respected authority on Jewish law and authored several important works on the Talmud and Jewish legal codes.
Despite its ancient origins, the name Shelbia remained relatively uncommon throughout history, especially outside of the Jewish community. However, its meaning and association with peace and tranquility have made it a unique and intriguing choice for parents seeking a name with strong cultural and historical roots.
People
Shelbia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shelbia 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
Shelbia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shelbia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 46 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shelbia 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 7,451,181 US residents.
Is Shelbia a common name?
We classify Shelbia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 147 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shelbia most popular?
The single biggest year for Shelbia was 1937, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shelbia is about 85 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shelbia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shelbia 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.