How Many People Are Named Sheldon?
An estimated 25,424 people in the United States have the first name Sheldon. It is predominantly male (98.7%). The average bearer is 48 years old, and Sheldon peaked in popularity in 1992 with 624 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Sheldon 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 Sheldon paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Sheldon is overwhelmingly male, 496 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
25,424
About 1 in 13,482 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
98.7% confidence
Average Age
48
years old
Peak Year
1992
624 births
Total Registered
37,122
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Sheldon
Sheldon is predominantly male (98.7%), though 496 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Sheldon as a male name
Ranked #1,961 in 2024
80 male births in 2024
Peak: 1992 (608 births)
Sheldon as a female name
Ranked #12,032 in 2002
8 female births in 2002
Peak: 1994 (24 births)
Sheldon: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Sheldon span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1990s, when 4,995 babies were registered. Sheldon has declined significantly from its peak in the 1990s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Sheldon by Decade
How has Sheldon 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 36 | 36 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 41 | 41 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 126 | 126 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 1,037 | 1,037 | 0 | |
| 1920s | 3,078 | 3,078 | 0 | |
| 1930s | 4,309 | 4,296 | 13 | |
| 1940s | 4,057 | 4,038 | 19 | |
| 1950s | 3,845 | 3,804 | 41 | |
| 1960s | 4,109 | 4,032 | 77 | |
| 1970s | 3,633 | 3,557 | 76 | |
| 1980s | 3,426 | 3,340 | 86 | |
| 1990s | 4,995 | 4,837 | 158 | |
| 2000s | 2,494 | 2,468 | 26 | |
| 2010s | 1,578 | 1,578 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 358 | 358 | 0 | |
Sheldon by State
Birth registrations for Sheldon span all 49 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island. On average, about 628 Sheldons were registered per state.
Sheldon + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Sheldon as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Sheldon
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Sheldon: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sheldon?
We estimate approximately 25,424 people named Sheldon 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 13,482 Americans share this first name.
Is Sheldon a common name?
Sheldon is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 37,122 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Sheldon most popular?
Sheldon reached peak popularity in 1992, when 624 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Sheldon is approximately 48 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Sheldon a male name?
Sheldon is predominantly male. 98.7% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Sheldon Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Sheldon Smith, Sheldon Johnson, Sheldon 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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