Shequilla
Feminine name of unknown origin or meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 61 living Americans carry the first name Shequilla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shequilla today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shequilla births was 1982 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shequilla. 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 Shequilla. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
61
~ 1 in 5,618,924 Americans
Peak year
1982
10 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1993 SSA rank
#10,436
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Shequilla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shequilla from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 32 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
Shequilla 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 Shequilla 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 Shequilla
The name Shequilla has its roots in the ancient Mesopotamian language of Akkadian, which was spoken in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers during the 3rd millennium BCE. It is derived from the Akkadian word "shequ," meaning "to give," and the suffix "-illa," which was commonly used to form feminine names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shequilla can be found in a cuneiform tablet from the city of Ur, dating back to around 2500 BCE. This tablet is believed to be a legal document related to a property transfer, and it mentions a woman named Shequilla as a witness or participant in the transaction.
In the ancient Sumerian literature, there is a reference to a priestess named Shequilla who served in the temple of the goddess Inanna in the city of Uruk. This priestess is mentioned in a hymn praising Inanna's divine powers and her role as the patron of love and fertility.
During the Middle Babylonian period, around 1500 BCE, there was a prominent scholar and scribe named Shequilla who is credited with compiling a collection of mathematical texts and astronomical calculations. Some of her works were later discovered in the famous library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh.
In the 9th century BCE, a woman named Shequilla is mentioned in the annals of the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II. She was a member of the royal court and is described as a skilled weaver who was responsible for producing intricate tapestries and garments for the king and his family.
Another notable figure with the name Shequilla was a philosopher and teacher who lived in the city of Babylon during the 6th century BCE. She is known for her teachings on ethics and moral philosophy, and her ideas were influential in shaping the intellectual discourse of the time.
While the name Shequilla has its roots in ancient Mesopotamia, it has been used throughout history in various cultures and regions. However, its usage has been relatively rare compared to other names from the same linguistic and cultural traditions.
People
Shequilla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shequilla 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
Shequilla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shequilla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 61 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shequilla 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 5,618,924 US residents.
Is Shequilla a common name?
We classify Shequilla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 64 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shequilla most popular?
The single biggest year for Shequilla was 1982, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shequilla is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Shequilla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shequilla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shequilla 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 Shequilla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shequilla 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 Shequilla 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Shequilla?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.