Shelley Long
There are approximately 46 people named Shelley Long living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 7,451,181 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Shelley with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Long. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
46
1 in 7,451,181
Named Shelley
60K
Alive today
Named Long
267K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 60K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1964
Average age: 58
Estimated bearers: 267K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #97
Per 100K: 77.76
Top ancestry: White (79.9%)
First name trend
Shelley: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Shelley. The peak year was 1964 with 2,845 births. The average person named Shelley today is 58 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Long surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Long, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 79.9%.
- White79.9%
- Black or African American12.1%
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5%
- Hispanic or Latino2.2%
- Two or more races2.0%
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Shelley has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0174% of the US population, based on 59,656 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Long appears at a rate of 77.76 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0778%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 46 people with the full name Shelley Long. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Shelley
Related
Other people with the surname Long
FAQ
Shelley Long: questions and answers
How many people are named Shelley Long?
We estimate approximately 46 people in the United States share the full name Shelley Long. That works out to about 1 in 7,451,181 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0174%) with the surname frequency (77.76 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Shelley Long?
We classify Shelley Long as "Very Rare". About 1 in 7,451,181 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Shelley a male or female name?
Shelley is predominantly female. Out of 74,326 total SSA registrations, 2.4% were male and 97.6% were female. See the full Shelley profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.