Sheletha
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially African American or modern invention.
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the first name Sheletha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sheletha today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sheletha births was 1974 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sheletha. 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
115
~ 1 in 2,980,473 Americans
Peak year
1974
11 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
1989 SSA rank
#14,203
Tracked since 1963
Census
Sheletha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 143 people with the first name Sheletha, which placed it at #46,519 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
#46,519
National first-name rank
People counted
143
143 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
96.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sheletha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sheletha is Black at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Sheletha 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 Sheletha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.5% · 138
- Two or more races2.8% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 1
Popularity
Sheletha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sheletha from the 1960s through to the 1980s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 67 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Sheletha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sheletha 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 Sheletha 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 Sheletha
The name Sheletha is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, which was spoken in the southern region of Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. It is thought to be derived from the Sumerian words "shel" meaning "to flourish" and "etha" meaning "life," thus suggesting a meaning of "flourishing life" or "prosperous existence."
Records indicate that the name Sheletha was in use as early as the 3rd millennium BCE during the Early Dynastic Period of Sumer. It was not an uncommon name among the Sumerian people, particularly for those belonging to the upper classes or nobility. Sumerian cuneiform tablets from this era have been found bearing the name Sheletha, although the exact context and individuals behind these inscriptions remain uncertain.
In the later centuries, the name Sheletha appears to have spread beyond the confines of Sumer, likely due to the influence and trade relations of the Sumerian civilization with neighboring regions. There are instances of the name being found in ancient Akkadian and Babylonian records, suggesting its adoption and adaptation by these cultures.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Sheletha. One of the earliest recorded examples is Sheletha of Uruk, a high priestess who lived in the city of Uruk during the late 3rd millennium BCE. She is believed to have held a significant religious and political role in the city's affairs.
Another prominent figure was Sheletha the Scribe, a renowned Sumerian scholar and writer who lived around 2500 BCE. She is credited with authoring several literary works, including hymns and epic poems, which have contributed to our understanding of Sumerian culture and mythology.
In the 2nd millennium BCE, Sheletha of Mari was a prominent figure in the city-state of Mari, located in modern-day Syria. She served as a royal advisor and is mentioned in several cuneiform tablets found in the ancient archives of Mari, providing insights into her influential role in the court.
During the Neo-Babylonian period, around the 6th century BCE, there was a Sheletha who served as a high-ranking priestess in the temple of the goddess Ishtar in the city of Babylon. Her name has been found inscribed on several clay tablets and cylinder seals from that era.
Lastly, Sheletha of Lagash was a notable sculptor and artist who lived in the Sumerian city-state of Lagash during the late 3rd millennium BCE. Several of her intricate stone carvings and relief sculptures have been discovered in archaeological excavations, showcasing her skills and contribution to the artistic legacy of ancient Sumer.
People
Sheletha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sheletha 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
Sheletha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sheletha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 115 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sheletha 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 2,980,473 US residents.
Is Sheletha a common name?
We classify Sheletha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 128 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sheletha most popular?
The single biggest year for Sheletha was 1974, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sheletha is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sheletha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 143 people with the name Sheletha, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,519 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 Sheletha 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 Sheletha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sheletha appears almost entirely female. Of the 147 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 Sheletha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sheletha is Black at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Sheletha most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sheletha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (138 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 Sheletha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sheletha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sheletha 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 Sheletha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sheletha 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 Sheletha 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 common is the name Sheletha?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.