Shelee
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Shelley or Sheila.
Name Census estimates that about 22 living Americans carry the first name Shelee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shelee today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shelee births was 1973 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shelee. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shelee. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
22
~ 1 in 15,579,743 Americans
Peak year
1973
10 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1977 SSA rank
#10,989
Tracked since 1961
Census
Shelee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 114 people with the first name Shelee, which placed it at #51,355 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
#51,355
National first-name rank
People counted
114
114 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shelee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shelee is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Shelee 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 Shelee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.5% · 77
- Black or African American13.2% · 15
- Two or more races6.1% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.4% · 5
Popularity
Shelee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shelee from the 1960s through to the 1970s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 15 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shelee 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 Shelee 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 Shelee
The name Shelee is believed to have its origins in the ancient Phoenician language, with roots tracing back to the Middle Eastern region around 1500 BC. The name is thought to be derived from the Phoenician word "shalah," which translates to "to be at peace" or "tranquility." The earliest recorded use of the name appears in ancient Phoenician texts, where it was typically given to children as a symbolic wish for a peaceful and serene life.
As the Phoenician civilization expanded its trade routes across the Mediterranean, the name Shelee likely spread to various regions, including parts of modern-day Greece and Italy. In ancient Greek records, the name is sometimes spelled "Sheleia," reflecting the linguistic evolution and adaptation of the name to the Greek language.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name Shelee was a Phoenician priestess who lived in the 8th century BC. Her name is mentioned in ancient Phoenician inscriptions found in modern-day Lebanon, where she is described as a revered spiritual leader and keeper of sacred rituals.
During the Roman era, the name Shelee appears to have been adopted by some Roman families, likely influenced by the cultural exchange between the Roman Empire and the Phoenician territories. A notable Roman woman named Shelee is mentioned in historical records from the 2nd century AD, where she is described as a prominent philanthropist and patron of the arts.
In the Middle Ages, the name Shelee resurfaced in various European regions, although its usage was relatively rare. One notable figure with this name was a 12th-century French noblewoman, Shelee de Montfort, who played a influential role in the political and religious affairs of her time.
Another historically significant figure bearing the name Shelee was an Ottoman Turkish poet and scholar who lived in the 16th century. Known as Shelee Bey, she was renowned for her contributions to the literary and intellectual circles of the Ottoman Empire, and her works have been preserved and studied by scholars to this day.
While the name Shelee has been relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been carried by individuals from various cultural and geographical backgrounds, reflecting the ancient roots and adaptations of this unique name over the centuries.
People
Shelee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shelee 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
Shelee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shelee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 22 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shelee 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 15,579,743 US residents.
Is Shelee a common name?
We classify Shelee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 41.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shelee most popular?
The single biggest year for Shelee was 1973, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shelee is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shelee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 114 people with the name Shelee, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,355 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 Shelee 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 Shelee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shelee appears almost entirely female. Of the 107 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Shelee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shelee is White at 67.5%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Shelee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shelee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.5% (77 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 Shelee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shelee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shelee 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 Shelee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shelee 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 Shelee 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 Shelee as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.