How Many People Are Named Shell?
An estimated 258 people in the United States have the first name Shell. It is used for both genders, with 63.7% female. The average bearer is 61 years old, and Shell peaked in popularity in 1963 with 31 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Shell 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 Shell paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
258
About 1 in 1,328,505 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
63.7% confidence
Average Age
61
years old
Peak Year
1963
31 births
Total Registered
311
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Shell
Shell is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (36.3%) and females (63.7%). Out of 311 total births registered, 113 were male and 198 were female.
Shell as a male name
Ranked #4,832 in 1971
6 male births in 1971
Peak: 1963 (16 births)
Shell as a female name
Ranked #12,517 in 1986
5 female births in 1986
Peak: 1965 (16 births)
Shell: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Shell span from the 1950s to the 1980s, covering 4 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1960s, when 191 babies were registered. Shell has declined significantly from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Shell by Decade
How has Shell 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.
Shell + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Shell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Shell
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Shell: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shell?
We estimate approximately 258 people named Shell 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 1,328,505 Americans share this first name.
Is Shell a common name?
Shell is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 77.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 311 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Shell most popular?
Shell reached peak popularity in 1963, when 31 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Shell is approximately 61 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Shell a female name?
Shell is predominantly female. 63.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Shell Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Shell Smith, Shell Johnson, Shell 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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