Shelbee
A feminine name of English origin meaning "from the willow shelter".
Name Census estimates that about 588 living Americans carry the first name Shelbee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shelbee today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shelbee births was 1996 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shelbee. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
588
~ 1 in 582,916 Americans
Peak year
1996
41 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2023 SSA rank
#17,250
Tracked since 1986
Census
Shelbee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 536 people with the first name Shelbee, which placed it at #19,637 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#19,637
National first-name rank
People counted
536
536 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shelbee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shelbee is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.1%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shelbee described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Shelbee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.0% · 429
- Hispanic or Latino7.1% · 38
- Two or more races5.8% · 31
- Black or African American4.5% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 5
Popularity
Shelbee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shelbee from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 295 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shelbee by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Shelbee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shelbees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Utah recorded the most babies named Shelbee, while Utah, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shelbee
The given name Shelbee is a relatively modern name that has its roots in the English language. It is believed to have originated as a combination of the names Shelley and Bee. The name Shelley itself is derived from the Old English word "scielde," which means "cottage" or "shelter," while Bee is a diminutive form of the name Elizabeth, which has Hebrew origins and means "my God is an oath" or "my God is abundance."
While there are no known historical references or ancient texts that specifically mention the name Shelbee, its components have a rich history. The name Shelley has been recorded in England since the 13th century, and it was particularly popular among the aristocracy. One of the most famous bearers of this name was the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), whose works include "Ode to the West Wind" and "Ozymandias."
The name Elizabeth, from which the diminutive Bee is derived, has a long and illustrious history. It has been borne by numerous queens and princesses throughout the ages, including Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603), who was one of the most influential and iconic monarchs in British history.
As for the earliest recorded examples of the name Shelbee, it is difficult to pinpoint an exact date or individual, as it is a relatively modern name. However, some notable individuals who have borne this name include:
1. Shelbee Myne (born 1982), an American actress and model.
2. Shelbee Truitt (born 1995), an American softball player who played for the University of Texas.
3. Shelbee Woodside (born 1997), a Canadian actress known for her role in the television series "Baxter."
4. Shelbee Blakely (born 1991), an American fashion blogger and influencer.
5. Shelbee Thomspon (born 1988), an American artist and photographer.
It is worth noting that while the name Shelbee has gained popularity in recent decades, it is still relatively uncommon, particularly in its traditional spelling. As a result, the individuals mentioned above are among the most well-known bearers of this name throughout history.
People
Shelbee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shelbee as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shelbee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shelbee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 588 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shelbee going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 582,916 US residents.
Is Shelbee a common name?
We classify Shelbee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 602 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shelbee most popular?
The single biggest year for Shelbee was 1996, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shelbee is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shelbee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 536 people with the name Shelbee, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,637 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Shelbee in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Shelbee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shelbee appears almost entirely female. Of the 540 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Shelbee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shelbee is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.1%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Shelbee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shelbee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (429 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Shelbee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shelbee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shelbee in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Shelbee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shelbee in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Shelbee can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Shelbee?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.