How Many People Are Named Shelba?
An estimated 882 people in the United States have the first name Shelba. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 77 years old, and Shelba peaked in popularity in 1937 with 349 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Shelba 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 Shelba paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 77, Shelba is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1959.
Estimated Living Americans
882
About 1 in 388,610 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
99.8% confidence
Average Age
77
years old
Peak Year
1937
349 births
Total Registered
2,141
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Shelba
Shelba is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 2,141 total births registered, 99.8% were female.
Shelba as a male name
Ranked #3,939 in 1937
5 male births in 1937
Peak: 1937 (5 births)
Shelba as a female name
Ranked #9,050 in 1982
7 female births in 1982
Peak: 1937 (344 births)
Shelba: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Shelba span from the 1930s to the 1980s, covering 6 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1930s, when 975 babies were registered. Shelba has declined significantly from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Shelba by Decade
How has Shelba 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.
Shelba by State
Birth registrations for Shelba span all 18 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in North Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia. The lowest are in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Mississippi. On average, about 73 Shelbas were registered per state.
Shelba + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Shelba as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Shelba
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Shelba: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shelba?
We estimate approximately 882 people named Shelba 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 388,610 Americans share this first name.
Is Shelba a common name?
Shelba is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 89.3% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 2,141 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Shelba most popular?
Shelba reached peak popularity in 1937, when 349 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Shelba is approximately 77 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Shelba a female name?
Shelba is predominantly female. 99.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Shelba Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Shelba Smith, Shelba Johnson, Shelba 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.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me