Declining since 1999, #10,107 for girls today.
Popularity of Shaela since 1967
Babies named Shaela per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 5 |
| 1970s | 54 |
| 1980s | 155 |
| 1990s | 393 |
| 2000s | 364 |
| 2010s | 120 |
| 2020s | 33 |
Meaning & origin
Shaela is a modern American coinage that first appeared in Social Security records in 1967. The name reached its peak popularity in 1999, ranking highest that year before beginning a steady decline. As of 2025, the name is given to approximately 1 in 178,585 girls, reflecting a significant drop from its peak usage. The spelling 'Shaela' may be a creative variant of Sheila or Shayla, aligning with the late-20th-century trend of customizing traditional names with unique spellings. While never among the top 1,000 names nationally, Shaela has maintained consistent if sparse usage, particularly in the 1990s. The trajectory since 1999 indicates waning preference in recent decades.
Shaela emerged in the United States in the late 1960s, first recorded in 1967. It appears to be a modern coinage, likely a creative respelling of the established name Sheila (an Irish Anglicization of Síle, itself from Latin 'Caelia' or 'caelum' meaning 'heaven'). The spelling 'Shaela' follows a pattern of names combining 'Sh-' with the popular '-aela' suffix seen in names like Kayla and Layla.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Shay, Lala, Shea
Sibling names for Shaela
Names that share Shaela's style, for a brother or sister.
