Sheila is a girl name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Sheila means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Sheila across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Sheila has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Sheila is a girl name of Latin origin meaning “blind, or of the heavens”. an anglicised form of the Irish Síle (Cecilia).
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 239,422 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 212 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 292 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 3 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 2,922 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Sheila per year, United States (1907 to 2025). United States peaked in 1962 (8,807/yr) · Ireland peaked in 1964 (176/yr) · Scotland peaked in 1974 (36/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2006 (16/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2011 (3/yr).
Sheila has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1962, when it ranked #101 nationally (given to 8,807 babies that year), and a popular choice in the 1960s.
Shelly · Shelley · Shiloh · Shelia · Shayla · Shellie · Shelli · Sheilah
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