How Many People Are Named Sheila?
An estimated 171,601 people in the United States have the first name Sheila. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #319 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 62 years old, and Sheila peaked in popularity in 1962 with 8,806 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Sheila as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Sheila paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Sheila is overwhelmingly female, 648 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Sheila has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
171,601
About 1 in 1,997 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
62
years old
Peak Year
1962
8,806 births
Total Registered
239,354
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Sheila
Sheila is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 239,354 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Sheila as a male name
Ranked #6,129 in 1989
8 male births in 1989
Peak: 1962 (29 births)
Sheila as a female name
Ranked #2,024 in 2024
97 female births in 2024
Peak: 1962 (8,777 births)
Sheila: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Sheila span from the 1900s to the 2020s, covering 13 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1960s, when 74,286 babies were registered. Sheila has declined significantly from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Sheila by Decade
How has Sheila tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Sheila by State
Birth registrations for Sheila span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Illinois. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming. On average, about 4,616 Sheilas were registered per state.
Sheila + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Sheila as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Sheila
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Sheila: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sheila?
We estimate approximately 171,601 people named Sheila are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,997 Americans share this first name.
Is Sheila a common name?
Sheila is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 239,354 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Sheila most popular?
Sheila reached peak popularity in 1962, when 8,806 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Sheila is approximately 62 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Sheila a female name?
Sheila is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Sheila Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Sheila Smith, Sheila Johnson, Sheila Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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