Name Sheila
Sheila is a feminine name with Latin, Irish, English, Ireland origins. It is considered a ubiquitous name that has remained stable in popularity recently.
Meaning of the name Sheila
Origins and Core Meaning
Sheila is a feminine name of Irish origin, meaning "heavenly" or "fairy maiden". It is a variant of the name
Detailed Insights on Sheila
Origins
Irish, meaning "heavenly" or "fairy maiden", variant of the name Cecilia - It also carries influences from Latin, English, Ireland.
Symbolic Representation
The name Sheila is often associated with the symbolism of the moon. The moon is a symbol of femininity, fertility, and intuition. It is also a symbol of change and transformation.
Personality Traits
The name Sheila is often associated with the emotions of joy, happiness, and optimism. It is also a name that is often given to girls who are seen as being gentle, kind, and compassionate.
Key Personality Traits
Personal Meanings of the Name Sheila
Sheila Overview & Analysis
Gender statistics
Sheila is predominantly a girl's name with a strong feminine identity. Among 236,755 people named Sheila, 236,731 are female and 24 are male resulting in a 99.99% female distribution. This pronounced gender imbalance underscores the name Sheila's strong feminine identity.
Data Explanation
This data is sourced from actual birth records, ensuring that the statistics provided are accurate reflections of real naming trends. The percentage has been rounded up for easier readability, but the underlying figures are grounded in factual data, not estimates. This ensures that the information is both reliable and user-friendly, giving a clear and truthful picture of the name Sheila's gender association.
Popularity
Sheila classified as an ubiquitous name and ranks 339 in the Namedary database. It has remained stable over time, and remained stable recently. The chance of meeting someone named Sheila is nearly 0.07%, or about one in 1,000+ people.
Based on the latest data from 2021 (568), 2022 (56), 2023 (72), Sheila's year-to-year percentage change in popularity is 28.57%. The name Sheila was most popular in 1962, making up 0.23% of baby names (or about one in 400+ babies).
Country-Specific Prevalence
| Flag | Country | Rank | Popularity |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 314 | 0.07% | |
| Canada | 873 | 0.01% | |
| New Zealand | 981 | 0.01% | |
| Australia | 2,074 | 0.001% | |
| United Kingdom | 2,731 | 0.003% |
People named Sheila are predominantly found in United States (US), particularly in New York (NY), where it makes up 0.09% of the population.
Data Source
The data in this section was gathered from a variety of sources, including:
- United States: Social Security Administration (https://www.ssa.gov/)
- Canada: Government of Ontario (https://data.ontario.ca/). Alberta’s top baby names (https://www.alberta.ca/). B.C.'s Most Popular Baby Names (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/)
- United Kingdom: Office for National Statistics (https://www.ons.gov.uk/)
- Australia: Government of South Australia (https://data.sa.gov.au/). Government of New South Wales (https://www.nsw.gov.au/). Northern Territory Government (https://nt.gov.au/)
- New Zealand: New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (https://www.data.govt.nz/)
- Supplemental Sources: To enrich our data-driven approach, we supplement our primary sources with information from credible websites, academic publications, and expert opinions. This ensures that we provide a well-rounded perspective on baby names.
To enhance readability, percentages are rounded up. Values less than 0.0015% have been omitted.
Additional Information on Sheila
Pronunciation and Phonetics
- Name
- Sheila
- Pronunciation
- sheila
- shee-luh
- sh-ee-l-ah
- she-la
- IPA Notation
- ʃiˈlʌ
- Syllable
- Stressed:shei-la
- Syllable Count:2 Syllables
Chinese Translation of the Name Sheila
- Translation
- 希拉
- Pronunce
- (PinYin) : xī lā
- Feng Shui
- 希Water拉Fire
Sheila in Numerology
| S | H | E | I | L | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 9 | 1 | |||
| 1 | 8 | 3 |
Applying the rules of numerology (Pythagorean numerology):
Sheila's Soul Number (Heart's Desire Number): Number 6
- You embrace your true self while nurturing others, caring for, and being close to those you love.
- You aspire to bring love, beauty, and harmony into the world so that everyone can feel happy, loved, and healed.
- You are driven by beauty, love, family, relationships, and serving and caring for others.
Sheila's Expression Number (Personality Number): Number 3
- You bring joy and laughter to those around you.
- You live happily and are the life of the party.
- You are intelligent, quick-witted, and have a bright appearance.
Sheila's Destiny Number (Life Path Number): Number 9
- You are artistic, generous, idealistic, poetic, visionary, and altruistic.
- You are always inclined to engage in charity, giving, and helping others. You have a keen appreciation for art and beauty.
Famous People Named Sheila
- Sheila E. (musician)
- Sheila Hancock (actress)
- Sheila Jordan (jazz singer)
- Sheila MacRae (singer and actress)
- Sheila McCarthy (actress)
User-Submitted Information about Sheila
Best_man359
Also Spanish (Modern)
Pronunciation: /'ʃej.la/, /'sej.la/
In Spanish it is usually pronounced SHAY-lah or SAY-lah, not SHEE-lə. In fact, there are two spellings of this name in use in Spain: Sheila and Seila. The reason for this is that the sound [ʃ] isn't typically found in monolingual speakers of Spanish in northern and central Spain, but it is more commonly known by younger generations due to exposure to the English language. Speakers from Latin America, Andalusia or the Canary Islands might find the sound of [ʃ] closer to their /tʃ/ than to their /s/, so they may use the variant Cheila. Finally, bilingual regions such as Galicia and Catalonia do have the phoneme [ʃ] in their languages (represented by letter X), so they ocassionaly use the variant Xeila.
According to National Institute of Statistics of Spain, there are 19945 women named Sheila, 1475 named Seila, 158 named Xeila and 63 named Cheila.
(Information from name #429235 originally submitted by user navarretedf)Archery_kng
Also Portuguese:
https://pt.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Sheila
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Sheila#Portuguese
https://forebears.io/forenames/sheilaZarrac42
Sheila is also used in Brazil.
Conclusion
The name Sheila is a beautiful and meaningful name that is perfect for a girl who is destined for great things. It is a name that will bring her joy, happiness, and success in life.
Lqmmkpahof11
Unfortunately in Canada, Sheila is often used as derogatory term for referring to nasty, mean and foolish women.
Mimita_1
Terrence1989221 said on 3/18/2018 that "Sheila" is often used as a derogatory word for "nasty, mean and foolish women." I'm Canadian and I have never heard that before in my life. I've heard "Sheila" used as slang for "woman" or "girl" in Australian numerous times, but never have I heard anyone anywhere use the word to mean "nasty, mean and foolish." If terrence1989221 has heard it used that way, I'd suggest it must be a highly localized or regional thing, or maybe even used within a microculture, and terrence1989221 believes it has wider use. I wouldn't let his comment put you off naming a kid "Sheila" if you want to.
Jaytay19
"Sheila" is the Irish form of the name "Celia". It means "Heaven".