How Many People Are Named Shelia Witherspoon?
There are approximately 2 people named Shelia Witherspoon living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Shelia with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Witherspoon. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.
Estimated People with This Name
2
1 in 171,377,169 Americans
Combination Rarity
Very Rare
First Name
View full profileShelia
Last Name
View full profileWitherspoon
Shelia: Popularity Over Time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Shelia. The peak year was 1959 with 2,293 births. The average person named Shelia today is 63 years old.
Ancestry of the First Name Shelia
In the 2020 Census, the first name Shelia was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (54.77%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (40.00%) and Two or More Races (2.57%).
These percentages describe the people who had the first name Shelia in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.
Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Shelia rose or fell over time.
Ancestry of the Witherspoon Surname
The surname Witherspoon was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Black in the 2020 Census.
This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Witherspoon in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.
How we calculated this
The first name "Shelia" has an estimated frequency of 0.0106% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.
The surname "Witherspoon" appears at a rate of 4.14 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.
We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Shelia are likely to be alive now.
Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 2 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.
Other people named Shelia
Other people with the surname Witherspoon
Shelia Witherspoon: Questions and Answers
How many people are named Shelia Witherspoon?
We estimate approximately 2 people named Shelia Witherspoon are alive in the United States today. The first name Shelia is shared by 36,426 Americans, and the surname Witherspoon is shared by 14,190.
How rare is the name Shelia Witherspoon?
This name combination is classified as Very Rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans. The first name Shelia is uncommon and the surname Witherspoon is uncommon.
Is Shelia a male or female name?
Shelia is predominantly female, with 0.2% of bearers being male and 99.8% female. It peaked in popularity in 1959 and the average bearer today is 63 years old.
What does the Census say about the first name Shelia?
In the 2020 Census, the first name Shelia was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (54.77%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (40.00%) and Two or More Races (2.57%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.
Where does this data come from?
First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.
Try another name
How Many of Me