How Many People Are Named Shelley?
Complete statistics for the name Shelley in the United States — including rarity score, gender breakdown, age distribution, historical popularity, and state data.
Data last updated: 2025 SSA records
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Normalized logarithmic scale (0–100)
male
Population Share
How Many People Have the Name Shelley in the US?
Based on Social Security Administration birth records and age-adjusted survival modeling, approximately 74,326 people in the United States currently share the name Shelley. That works out to roughly 1 in every 4,440 Americans, placing it in the Rare category among all names tracked in US records. For context on where this falls on the full spectrum, see the name rarity guide.
Is Shelley a Common or Rare Name?
Shelley is classified as Rare when scored against the entire US population. Our rarity scale runs from Very Common (top names shared by millions) through Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Very Rare. Understanding where a name sits helps parents gauge uniqueness when choosing a baby name, genealogists narrow down records, and curious individuals settle debates about their own identity.
What Does the Name Shelley Mean?
The meaning, language of origin, cultural and religious background for Shelley are covered in full on the Shelley name meaning & origin page. For a broader look at thousands of names, browse the name meaning directory.
Gender Breakdown: Is Shelley Male or Female?
Of all recorded bearers of Shelley in SSA data, approximately 2% are male and 98% are female. Shelley is used almost exclusively as a female name in the United States. See our guide to gender-neutral names for more on how naming norms evolve.
When Was Shelley Most Popular?
The name Shelley reached peak popularity in 1964, with 2,821 babies registered that year. Our article on 2025 baby name trends explores these forces in detail.
Where Is Shelley Most Common in the US?
The state-by-state breakdown above shows estimated bearer counts for Shelley across all 50 states. Highly populous states like California, Texas, and New York naturally show higher counts for almost every name simply due to population size.
How Is This Data Calculated?
All figures on this page are statistical estimates, not exact government headcounts. The underlying data comes from the SSA National Baby Names dataset. Full methodology is explained on the methodology page.
How many people are named Shelley?
Approximately 74,326 people in the United States share the name Shelley, based on SSA birth records and age-adjusted survival modeling.
Is Shelley a rare name?
Shelley is classified as Rare in the United States. Approximately 1 in every 4,440 Americans has this name.
What does the name Shelley mean?
The meaning and origin of Shelley is displayed in the Name Meaning and Origin section at the top of this page. Browse the name meaning directory at https://howmanyofme.site/name-meaning/ for more names.
Is Shelley more male or female?
Based on SSA records, 2% of people named Shelley are male and 98% are female. The predicted gender is Female.
When was Shelley most popular?
The name Shelley reached its peak in 1964, with 2,821 registrations that year.
Are these statistics exact?
No. All figures are statistical estimates based on SSA birth records and age-adjusted modeling. Exact real-time name counts are not publicly available. See the methodology page at https://howmanyofme.site/methodology/ for full details.