Shelley Long
There are approximately 45 people named Shelley Long living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 7,616,763 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Shelley with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Long. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
45
1 in 7,616,763
Named Shelley
60K
Alive today
Named Long
256K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 60K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1964
Average age: 58
Top Census group: White (87.5%)
Estimated bearers: 256K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #100
Per 100K: 74.77
Top ancestry: White (76.6%)
First name trend
Shelley: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Shelley. The peak year was 1964 with 2,845 births. The average person named Shelley today is 58 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shelley
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Shelley, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 87.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shelley described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Shelley at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White87.5% · 56,241
- Black or African American5.0% · 3,199
- Two or more races2.7% · 1,756
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 1,391
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 1,199
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 469
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Long surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Long, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 76.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Long described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Long at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White76.6% · 171,227
- Black or African American11.8% · 26,370
- Two or more races4.1% · 9,205
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 7,070
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 6,806
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2,807
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Shelley has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0174% of the US population, based on 59,656 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Shelley right now.
The surname Long appears at a rate of 74.77 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0748%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 45 people with the full name Shelley Long. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Shelley
Related
Other people with the surname Long
FAQ
Shelley Long: questions and answers
How many people are named Shelley Long?
We estimate approximately 45 people in the United States share the full name Shelley Long. That works out to about 1 in 7,616,763 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0174%) with the surname frequency (74.77 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Shelley Long?
We classify Shelley Long as "Very Rare". About 1 in 7,616,763 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Shelley a male or female name?
Shelley is predominantly female. Out of 74,326 total SSA registrations, 2.4% were male and 97.6% were female. See the full Shelley profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people have the full name Shelley Long?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Shelley Long on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.