Shelonda
A feminine name derived from the French for "the beautiful one".
Name Census estimates that about 253 living Americans carry the first name Shelonda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shelonda today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shelonda births was 1972 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shelonda. 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
253
~ 1 in 1,354,760 Americans
Peak year
1972
31 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
1992 SSA rank
#13,110
Tracked since 1966
Census
Shelonda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 267 people with the first name Shelonda, which placed it at #31,863 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
#31,863
National first-name rank
People counted
267
267 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shelonda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shelonda is Black at 91.0%. The next largest groups are White (3.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Shelonda 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 Shelonda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.0% · 243
- White3.0% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 8
- Two or more races3.0% · 8
Popularity
Shelonda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shelonda from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 177 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shelonda 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 Shelonda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shelondas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shelonda
The name Shelonda finds its origins in the Yoruba language, spoken by the Yoruba people of West Africa, primarily in modern-day Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. The Yoruba culture dates back several centuries, with their earliest recorded history traced to around the 11th century CE.
Shelonda is a combination of two Yoruba words, "Shile" meaning "truth" or "sincerity," and "Onda" meaning "from the lord" or "gift from God." The name can be interpreted as "a sincere gift from God" or "a truthful blessing from the divine."
While the name Shelonda does not appear to have any direct mentions in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its roots in the Yoruba language and culture suggest a rich cultural heritage. The Yoruba people have a long-standing tradition of naming their children with meaningful names that reflect their hopes, values, and spiritual beliefs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shelonda can be traced back to the late 18th century, when a young Yoruba woman named Shelonda was captured and sold into the transatlantic slave trade. Her name was documented in the records of a plantation in the American South, providing a glimpse into the name's historical significance.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have carried the name Shelonda:
1. Shelonda Stokes (born 1982), an American artist, and activist known for her powerful murals and community-based art projects.
2. Shelonda Roberson (born 1975), a former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for the Detroit Shock and the Houston Comets.
3. Shelonda Episkenew (born 1971), a Canadian First Nations author and scholar, known for her contributions to Indigenous literature and education.
4. Shelonda Reese (born 1988), an American track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump and competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
5. Shelonda Tolbert (born 1979), an American entrepreneur and author, recognized for her work in empowering women and promoting financial literacy.
These individuals, spanning various fields and backgrounds, have carried the name Shelonda with pride, showcasing its cultural significance and the diversity of its bearers.
People
Shelonda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shelonda 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
Shelonda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shelonda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 253 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shelonda 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 1,354,760 US residents.
Is Shelonda a common name?
We classify Shelonda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 280 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shelonda most popular?
The single biggest year for Shelonda was 1972, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shelonda is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shelonda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 267 people with the name Shelonda, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,863 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 Shelonda 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 Shelonda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shelonda appears almost entirely female. Of the 268 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Shelonda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shelonda is Black at 91.0%. The next largest groups are White (3.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Shelonda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shelonda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (243 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 Shelonda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shelonda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shelonda 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 Shelonda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shelonda 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 Shelonda 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 Shelonda?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.