NamelingSwipe names

Shelby

Gender
Mostly girls
Say it
SHEL-bee
Origin
English
UK rank, 2025
#884 for girls
US rank, 2025
#649 for girls

Shelby is a name of English origin. In 2025 it ranked 884th for girls in the UK (43 babies) and 649th for girls in the US (444 babies).

What does Shelby mean?

English: surname of uncertain origin

An English surname of uncertain origin; it is the family name of the gangsters in Peaky Blinders.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Shelby a girl's or a boy's name?

In recent years, Shelby has been given to girls and boys, mostly girls. In 2025, it was given to 43 girls and 8 boys in the UK and 444 girls and 41 boys in the US.

How popular is Shelby in the UK?

Rank in 2025
884th among girls
Babies in 2025
43 about 1 in 6,500 girls
Five-year trend
Falling down 40% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 43 girls in the UK were named Shelby, making it the 884th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 502nd. Its busiest year was 1997, with 348 girls. 8 boys were also named Shelby in 2025 (2,742nd for boys).

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 6 years. 2025 had the fewest girls named Shelby since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the girls named Shelby in the UK since 1996 were born between 1999 and 2013. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.

In 2025, 46 girls in the UK were given Shelby or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #770, up from #884 for this spelling alone.

In 2025, 84% of the babies named Shelby in the UK were girls.

Among girls in 2025, it was 872nd in England and Wales and 780th in Scotland.

1996Busiest: 348 in 19972025
Shelby in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202543#884
202456#725
202362#648
202266#628
202185#533
202088#502
201996#480
201886#540
201756#777
201661#733
201556#758
201463#692
201373#613
201278#597
201170#631
201091#502
200991#495
200891#490
2007119#389
2006120#381
2005116#378
2004149#312
2003125#335
2002100#378
2001187#245
2000193#245
1999214#225
1998290#171
1997348#152
1996219#208

How popular is Shelby in the US?

Rank in 2025
649th among girls
Babies in 2025
444 about 1 in 3,600 girls
Five-year trend
Falling down 32% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 444 girls in the US were named Shelby, making it the 649th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 501st. Its busiest year was 1991, with 10,220 girls. It first appears in the records in 1913. 41 boys were also named Shelby in 2025 (2,990th for boys).

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 29 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Shelby than any year since 1982.

Half of all the girls named Shelby in the US since 1880 were born between 1991 and 2001, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 470 girls in the US were given Shelby or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #621, up from #649 for this spelling alone.

In 1913, 12% of the babies named Shelby in the US were girls. By 2025 it was 92%, with more girls than boys since 1936.

1913Busiest: 10,220 in 19912025
Shelby in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025444#649
2024446#657
2023448#656
2022503#595
2021556#549
2020606#501
2019634#495
2018738#424
2017836#373
2016986#337
20151,080#299
20141,114#294
20131,239#259
20121,447#220
20111,462#217
20101,680#184
20091,935#167
20082,148#158
20072,351#149
20062,620#133
20052,839#117
20042,988#112
20033,537#94
20023,961#75
20014,370#68
20004,561#70
19995,018#62
19985,893#49
19976,701#43
19967,950#35
19957,632#38
19947,546#40
19938,122#37
19929,396#34
199110,220#33
19903,517#100
19891,203#229
1988881#284
1987899#273
1986900#276
1985885#281
19841,042#242
1983642#351
1982435#479
1981512#424
1980482#443
1979428#469
1978483#418
1977553#382
1976575#365
1975746#308
1974798#300
1973678#328
1972754#318
1971555#393
1970400#499
1969326#547
1968319#537
1967293#549
1966304#540
1965274#576
1964317#556
1963371#505
1962370#502
1961386#494
1960307#559
1959357#516
1958382#489
1957367#493
1956345#505
1955344#489
1954310#503
1953262#530
1952228#573
1951232#556
1950248#516
1949241#531
1948266#499
1947369#425
1946397#383
1945333#387
1944367#364
1943491#314
1942599#279
1941826#213
19401,006#187
19391,164#170
19381,714#142
19371,997#119
19361,071#178
193567#840
193417#1,913
193318#1,835
193218#1,876
193111#2,579
19300–
192910#2,920
192819#1,960
192711#2,858
19260–
19259#3,361
19247#4,000
19237#3,970
192210#3,150
192112#2,762
192010#3,097
19197#3,815
19185#4,807
19179#3,090
191610#2,832
19155#4,272
19145#3,617
19135#3,185

Names like Shelby

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Holly, Molly, Sydney, Amber, Emily, Lily, Sunny, Ivy, Jasmine, Scarlett, Amy, Zoe

Other spellings of Shelby

Shelbie, Shelbi

Names related to Shelby

Selby, Shellby, Shelbey, Shelbee, Shelbe

More English names

Evelyn, Hudson, Harper, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Riley, Oakley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie, Hazel, Carter

Every English name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Shelby: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/shelby, updated 20 October 2026.