Shelina
A feminine name of Arabic and Urdu origin, meaning "velvet" or "smooth".
Name Census estimates that about 393 living Americans carry the first name Shelina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shelina today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shelina births was 1973 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shelina. 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
393
~ 1 in 872,148 Americans
Peak year
1973
25 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1997 SSA rank
#15,769
Tracked since 1965
Popularity
Shelina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shelina from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 165 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Shelina remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shelina 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 Shelina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shelinas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shelina
The name Shelina is believed to have its origins in the Persian language, where it is derived from the word "sheleen," meaning "soft" or "gentle." This name likely emerged in the region of modern-day Iran during the medieval period, around the 9th or 10th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shelina can be found in Persian literature from the 11th century. It is mentioned in the epic poem "Shahnameh" by the renowned poet Ferdowsi, where it is used as the name of a minor character.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Shelina Banu Agha was a influential woman at the court of the Mongol ruler Hulagu Khan. She played a significant role in shaping cultural and intellectual life during that era.
During the 16th century, a Sufi mystic and poet named Shelina Begum gained recognition for her spiritual writings and poetry in the Persian language. Her works were widely circulated throughout the region and influenced subsequent generations of poets and mystics.
In the 19th century, Shelina Amin was a prominent educator and advocate for women's rights in Persia. She established several schools for girls and worked tirelessly to promote female education and empowerment.
Another notable figure with the name Shelina was Shelina Zayyat, an Egyptian writer and activist who lived in the early 20th century. She was a vocal critic of British colonial rule and played a significant role in the Egyptian nationalist movement.
Over the centuries, the name Shelina has maintained its connection to the Persian language and culture, although it has also been adopted by various other cultures and regions, particularly in the Middle East and Central Asia.
People
Shelina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shelina 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
Shelina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shelina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 393 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shelina 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 872,148 US residents.
Is Shelina a common name?
We classify Shelina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 426 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shelina most popular?
The single biggest year for Shelina was 1973, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shelina is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shelina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shelina 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.