Shella
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially a variant of Michelle or Shelley.
Name Census estimates that about 849 living Americans carry the first name Shella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shella today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shella births was 1959 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shella. 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
849
~ 1 in 403,715 Americans
Peak year
1959
42 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,969
Tracked since 1909
Census
Shella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,613 people with the first name Shella, which placed it at #8,847 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
#8,847
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,613 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shella is White at 48.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.4%). 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 Shella 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 Shella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.0% · 774
- Black or African American28.4% · 458
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.4% · 249
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 66
- Two or more races3.7% · 60
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 6
Popularity
Shella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shella from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 303 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shella 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 Shella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Kentucky, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Shella, while Florida, New York, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shella
The given name Shella is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, with roots tracing back to ancient India. While the exact etymology is uncertain, it is thought to be a variation or derivative of the Sanskrit word "shila," which means "rock" or "stone."
In ancient Indian culture, rocks and stones held significant symbolic meaning, often representing strength, resilience, and endurance. The name Shella may have been bestowed upon individuals with the intention of imbuing them with these qualities or as a reflection of their perceived character traits.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Shella can be found in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, where it appears as a feminine name, though its usage was relatively rare. One notable historical figure bearing this name was Shella Devi, a revered female saint and mystic who lived in the 8th century CE in the region now known as Rajasthan, India.
During the Middle Ages, the name Shella gained some popularity in parts of Europe, particularly in regions influenced by the spread of Indian culture and philosophy. In the 13th century, a notable bearer of this name was Shella of Avignon, a French noblewoman and patron of the arts who played a significant role in the cultural renaissance of the time.
As trade and cultural exchanges between the East and West increased during the Renaissance period, the name Shella found its way into various European languages and cultures. In the 16th century, an Italian philosopher and scholar named Shella Piccolomini made significant contributions to the fields of ethics and metaphysics.
In more recent centuries, the name Shella has maintained a relatively niche presence, with a few notable individuals bearing it. One such figure was Shella Zaki, an Egyptian poet and activist who lived in the early 20th century and was known for her advocacy of women's rights and social reform.
Another notable bearer of the name was Shella Baschen, a German-born artist and sculptor who gained recognition in the latter half of the 20th century for her innovative works in various mediums, including ceramics and metal.
While the name Shella may not be among the most common or widely used names today, it carries a rich historical legacy and a connection to diverse cultures and traditions spanning multiple centuries and regions of the world.
People
Shella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shella 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
Shella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 849 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shella 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 403,715 US residents.
Is Shella a common name?
We classify Shella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,129 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shella most popular?
The single biggest year for Shella was 1959, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shella is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,613 people with the name Shella, or 0.53 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,847 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 Shella 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 Shella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shella appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,621 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Shella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shella is White at 48.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (15.4%). 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 Shella most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.0% (774 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 Shella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shella 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 Shella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shella 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 Shella 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 many people are named Shella?
Find out how many people share the name Shella on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.