Sheila
Meaning
Irish form of Cecilia, traditionally "blind" (disputed); a Brazilian favorite of the 1970s and 80s
Sheila around the world
One shared root links 4 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from the Roman clan name Caecilius, tied to caecus "blind"; the music-loving martyr St. Cecilia carried it across Europe
The constellation
More branches
Sheila in song
Sheila
Tommy Roe (1962)
Tommy Roe's number one hit, so openly indebted to Buddy Holly's Peggy Sue that the debt is really part of the charm.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Sheila peaked in the 1950s and the 1960s in nearly equal measure.
Popularity in Brazil
79,225 people · the #389 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 2,564 · median age 40
Among people named Sheila living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 146 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Sheila
Most people given the name Sheila in the United States were born between 1950 and 1979. The Sheila you meet today is most often in her 50s or 60s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Sheila deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Sheila truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Sheila fits with your family’s names and surname.
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