Shylee
Feminine
English readers see shy before they see anything else, and that is worth knowing before the name is chosen. There is a second reading that most people never reach: shai is the Hebrew for a gift, an ordinary word and a standing name in Israel for both sexes. Whether an American family meant one, the other or neither is not something the record can say.
How old is the name Shylee?
Shylee first appears in US birth records in 1990 — 35 years ago. The typical Shylee alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 800 people named Shylee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shylee most popular?
Shylee peaked in 2009, reaching #3189 nationally. Today it ranks #13208, 10,019 places below that high. See the whole 2009 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Shylee
American naming built a very large family of women's names on the -lee and -leigh endings, attaching them to almost any front element, and the fronts were free. Shylee appears in the record from 1990 and peaked in 2009, concentrated in California, which is the ordinary profile for a name of this construction. Whether any of the families using it had the Hebrew word in mind cannot be determined, and it would be dishonest to claim it for all of them.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No derivation is documented. Shai in Hebrew means a gift and is a common modern Israeli name; Shiloh is a biblical place name; Shy- also appears simply as an American front element joined to the -lee ending, which carries no meaning. The English adjective is a coincidence of spelling and probably the most consequential thing about the name in practice.
Pronouncing Shylee
SHY-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first. It is said identically to Shyly, which is an English adverb, and to Shiloh in some American accents.
Nicknames for Shylee
Moderate
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
- 1990
- Most girls named
- 200952 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3189reached in 2009
- Change vs 2024
- −50.0%6 in 2025, from 12
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.
Shylee in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Shai in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Shylees among us
people named Shylee are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 267,878 born in 2025 was named Shylee
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Coreena test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Shylee's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Coreena climbed just as high around 1961, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Coreena's path sketches the road Shylee is walking now.
Shylee sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Shylee beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Shylee in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Lee is available as a short form and suits a child of either sex.
- Six letters, two syllables, and entirely readable on sight.
- If the Hebrew reading is the family's, the meaning is one warm word.
- The English adjective is inside the name and will be noticed by everyone, including other children.
- Shylie, Shyla and Shiloh all sit close by and will be written instead.
- There is no documented meaning, only an account of the parts and the coincidence.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Shylee
Feminine · #13208 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Shylees are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Shylee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shylee in 2025?
- Shylee ranks #13208 among US girl names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Shylee?
- About 1 in every 267,878 US girls born in 2025 was named Shylee — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Shylee with classmates?
- Shylee will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Shylee
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Karine#13208 · Zoraida#13208 · Maryjean#13208 · Gwynne#13208 · Carmin#13208 · Marnita#13208 · Siri#13208 · Jaynee#13208
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shylee? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shylee and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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