Sheyli
A name of American origin meaning "the bright one."
Name Census estimates that about 196 living Americans carry the first name Sheyli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sheyli today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sheyli births was 2023 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sheyli. 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
196
~ 1 in 1,748,747 Americans
Peak year
2023
23 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,864
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Sheyli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sheyli from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 77 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
Sheyli 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 Sheyli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sheylis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sheyli
The given name Sheyli is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, where it is a variant spelling of the name Shayla or Shaila. This name holds roots in the Arabic word "shail," which translates to "a flowing stream" or "a torrent." The name's origins can be traced back to the 7th century AD, during the time of the Islamic Golden Age in the Middle East.
Sheyli was a relatively common name among Arab women during the medieval period, particularly in regions like the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, and parts of the Levant. It was often chosen for its poetic connotations and association with the beauty and grace of flowing water.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Sheyli can be found in the poetry of the renowned 8th century Arabian poet, Abu Nuwas. In one of his verses, he refers to a woman named Sheyli, describing her as a captivating beauty with a flowing gait.
Throughout history, there have been several notable women who bore the name Sheyli. One of the earliest was Sheyli bint Abi Lahab, a 7th-century Arab woman who was a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad. Another notable figure was Sheyli al-Andalusi, a 10th-century poet and scholar from the Andalusian region of Spain.
In the 12th century, Sheyli al-Dimashqi was a renowned Syrian calligrapher and artist whose works adorned the walls of several mosques and palaces in Damascus. A century later, Sheyli al-Baghdadi was a renowned mathematician and astronomer from Baghdad, known for her contributions to the field of trigonometry.
During the Ottoman Empire, the name Sheyli gained popularity among the Turkish aristocracy. One prominent figure was Sheyli Khanum, a 16th-century Ottoman princess and the daughter of Sultan Selim II. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her dedication to charitable causes.
While the name Sheyli has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has been adopted and adapted by various cultures throughout history, each imparting their own unique interpretations and associations with the name.
People
Sheyli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sheyli 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
Sheyli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sheyli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sheyli 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 1,748,747 US residents.
Is Sheyli a common name?
We classify Sheyli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 198 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sheyli most popular?
The single biggest year for Sheyli was 2023, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sheyli is about 11 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 Sheyli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sheyli a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sheyli 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 Sheyli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sheyli 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 Sheyli 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 have Sheyli as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.