People with the first name Shelly
75,244
About 1 in 4,405 Americans had this first name in the 2020 Census.
Measured, privacy-protected national Census count—not a total of historical baby-name records.
U.S. first-name statistics
How common is Shelly?
Shelly was the #690 most frequent first name in the 2020 Census.
National rank
#690
More common than 98.7% of listed first names
Peak year
1964
4,127 SSA-recorded births
2025 births
21
#9,963 across first names
Census frequency
1 in 4,405
Across the 2020 U.S. population
Sex distribution
Reported in the 2020 Census first-name table.
1.2% male98.8% female
Demographic distribution
Aggregated race and Hispanic-origin reporting in the 2020 Census name table.
Reading the result
Shelly across two different records
The Census count answers “how many people had this name?” using a national snapshot of living residents in 2020. The SSA series answers “when was this name popular?” using Social Security card applications associated with births.
Shelly reached its highest published annual SSA count in 1964, with 4,127 recorded births. In 2025, SSA recorded 21 babies with the name.
Names do not determine a person’s identity. Demographic percentages above describe national aggregates and should never be applied to an individual.
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