Shelah
Feminine
Shelah is a biblical spelling that English Bibles use for two different Hebrew names, both borne by men, and in American records it is a girls' name said just like Sheila. Two roads meet here, and nothing in the record says which one a family took.
How old is the name Shelah?
Shelah first appears in US birth records in 1935 — 90 years ago. The typical Shelah alive today was born around 1967, making them about 58 years old. About 400 people named Shelah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shelah most popular?
Shelah peaked in 1948, reaching #2828 nationally. See the whole 1948 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Shelah
Shelah lives on two pages of Genesis at once. On one it is Judah's youngest son, whose delayed marriage sets a famous chapter in motion; on the other, in newer translations, it names an ancestor in the long line from Noah's son Shem to Abraham, the man the King James Version called Salah. Hebrew writes the two names differently, and only English makes them twins. In the American record the same six letters sit on girls' certificates, sounding exactly like Sheila, a Gaelic name with Latin roots. A man's name twice over in scripture, and a girl's name by ear.
Meaningnot established
Not established
In Genesis, Shelah is Judah's third son; many modern translations also use Shelah for a son of Arpachshad in the genealogy after the Flood, whom the King James Version calls Salah. The two are different names in Hebrew. The American girls' name matches Sheila in sound, and no record says whether it came from the Bible or from Sheila.
Pronouncing Shelah
SHEE-luh
Said like Sheila, stress on the first syllable; the final h is silent.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1935
- Most girls named
- 197415 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2828reached in 1948
- Change vs 1999
- 0.0%5 in 2008, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Shelahs among us
people named Shelah are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Shelah sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Sounds exactly like Sheila, a name everyone can say.
- A genuine biblical spelling stands behind it.
- Rare, so it will seldom be shared.
- People will write Sheila, so expect to spell it out.
- Readers who know Genesis know Shelah as a man's name.
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Shelah
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Shelahs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Shelah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shelah in 2025?
- Shelah is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Shelah with classmates?
- Shelah will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Susan#1085 · Sarah#90 · Sandra#1207 · Stephanie#557 · Sharon#1250 · Shirley#1581 · Samantha#151 · Sophia#5
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shelah? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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