Shelby

#649 for girls in 2025, 444 births · #2,991 for boys in 2025, 41 births
Given to girls 90.0% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1991 · 10,220 births
Debut · girls
5 births
In top 100 · girls
14 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
148,830
since 1913

Shelby over time

girlsboys

Rank within each sex, plotted together. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201991peak #33, 1991peak #385, 1938girlsboys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#649444#2,99141
2024#657446#2,59551
2023#656448#2,66049
2022#595503#3,00341
2021#549556#3,29735
2020#501606#2,58649
2019#495634#3,71629
2018#424738#3,70829
2017#373836#3,31234
2016#337986#2,99339
2015#2991,080#3,43132
2014#2941,114#3,15435
2013#2591,239#2,56247
2012#2201,447#2,63246
2011#2171,462#2,69944
2010#1841,680#2,63246
2009#1671,935#2,70245
2008#1582,148#1,89976
2007#1492,351#1,92873
2006#1332,620#1,89371
2005#1172,839#1,86968
2004#1122,988#1,53087
2003#943,537#1,63077
2002#753,961#1,258108
2001#684,370#1,298101
2000#704,561#1,087129
1999#625,018#884171
1998#495,893#878165
1997#436,701#751199
1996#357,950#589305
1995#387,632#555335
1994#407,546#536362
1993#378,122#512403
1992#349,396#473453
1991#3310,220#427524
1990#1003,517#525354
1989#2291,203#692205
1988#284881#691184
1987#273899#685176
1986#276900#691172
1985#281885#661177
1984#2421,042#715148
1983#351642#682157
1982#479435#788125
1981#424512#750135
1980#443482#758134
1979#469428#722144
1978#418483#647168
1977#382553#614187
1976#365575#617176
1975#308746#576195
1974#300798#587184
1973#328678#605171
1972#318754#605173
1971#393555#607188
1970#499400#647159
1969#547326#592173
1968#537319#634143
1967#549293#655129
1966#540304#599156
1965#576274#696114
1964#556317#713117
1963#505371#671136
1962#502370#709117
1961#494386#676131
1960#559307#619159
1959#516357#667131
1958#489382#670128
1957#493367#675128
1956#506345#659132
1955#490344#599151
1954#504310#599153
1953#531262#644122
1952#574228#617132
1951#557232#532162
1950#517248#565143
1949#532241#553147
1948#500266#523160
1947#425369#558146
1946#383397#492171
1945#387333#488153
1944#364367#476161
1943#314491#448200
1942#279599#484160
1941#213826#455168
1940#1871,006#436176
1939#1701,164#393207
1938#1421,714#385214
1937#1191,997#385203
1936#1781,071#458151
1935#84067#525121
1934#1,91317#496133
1933#1,83518#530115
1932#1,87718#576106
1931#2,58111#562109
1930—#569111
1929#2,92110#564110
1928#1,96119#62197
1927#2,85911#553124
1926—#562120
1925#3,3629#543128
1924#4,0027#608110
1923#3,9717#550126
1922#3,15210#559128
1921#2,76212#534136
1920#3,09710#499146
1919#3,8177#501141
1918#4,8095#572113
1917#3,0929#532119
1916#2,83310#574100
1915#4,2745#60590
1914#3,6185#53684
1913#3,1875#75938
1912—#58448
1911—#54830
1910—#52429
1909—#50526
1908—#42931
1907—#69914
1906—#40029
1905—#54918
1904—#68612
1903—#50518
1902—#68711
1901—#53614
1900—#53420
1899—#45717
1898—#41822
1897—#55614
1896—#55114
1895—#50116
1894—#54314
1893—#61511
1892—#44519
1891—#8416
1890—#60311
1889—#58111
1888—#50515
1887—#46114
1886—#6479
1885—#60410
1884—#46816
1883—#6778
1882—#51413
1881—#53311
1880—#6828
First appearance
1913

The first year at least five girls were named Shelby! It came in at #3,187, and was given to 5 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1926, when fewer than 5 girls a year got the name.

Where Shelby is popular in 1991

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #12 for girls · 46 births · 1 in 73 girlsAKMaine: #34 for girls · 43 births · 1 in 140 girlsMEVermont: #31 for girls · 23 births · 1 in 109 girlsVTNew Hampshire: #70 for girls · 23 births · 1 in 264 girlsNHWashington: #19 for girls · 257 births · 1 in 120 girlsWAIdaho: #17 for girls · 58 births · 1 in 93 girlsIDMontana: #5 for girls · 76 births · 1 in 46 girlsMTNorth Dakota: #12 for girls · 56 births · 1 in 60 girlsNDMinnesota: #42 for girls · 163 births · 1 in 169 girlsMNIllinois: #51 for girls · 308 births · 1 in 252 girlsILWisconsin: #58 for girls · 113 births · 1 in 252 girlsWIMichigan: #23 for girls · 510 births · 1 in 118 girlsMINew York: #93 for girls · 266 births · 1 in 447 girlsNYMassachusetts: #105 for girls · 81 births · 1 in 448 girlsMARhode Island: #92 for girls · 15 births · 1 in 351 girlsRIOregon: #19 for girls · 162 births · 1 in 104 girlsORNevada: #17 for girls · 75 births · 1 in 95 girlsNVWyoming: #6 for girls · 41 births · 1 in 41 girlsWYSouth Dakota: #12 for girls · 57 births · 1 in 63 girlsSDIowa: #14 for girls · 203 births · 1 in 76 girlsIAIndiana: #14 for girls · 391 births · 1 in 89 girlsINOhio: #30 for girls · 434 births · 1 in 162 girlsOHPennsylvania: #57 for girls · 288 births · 1 in 247 girlsPANew Jersey: #94 for girls · 113 births · 1 in 413 girlsNJConnecticut: #63 for girls · 74 births · 1 in 250 girlsCTCalifornia: #55 for girls · 950 births · 1 in 275 girlsCAUtah: #13 for girls · 139 births · 1 in 96 girlsUTColorado: #22 for girls · 181 births · 1 in 115 girlsCONebraska: #11 for girls · 133 births · 1 in 67 girlsNEMissouri: #15 for girls · 368 births · 1 in 88 girlsMOKentucky: #18 for girls · 240 births · 1 in 89 girlsKYWest Virginia: #44 for girls · 47 births · 1 in 186 girlsWVVirginia: #54 for girls · 149 births · 1 in 248 girlsVAMaryland: #48 for girls · 134 births · 1 in 206 girlsMDDelaware: #44 for girls · 25 births · 1 in 149 girlsDEArizona: #21 for girls · 192 births · 1 in 134 girlsAZNew Mexico: #15 for girls · 88 births · 1 in 107 girlsNMKansas: #8 for girls · 222 births · 1 in 60 girlsKSArkansas: #18 for girls · 137 births · 1 in 88 girlsARTennessee: #20 for girls · 317 births · 1 in 96 girlsTNNorth Carolina: #59 for girls · 145 births · 1 in 275 girlsNCSouth Carolina: #40 for girls · 93 births · 1 in 207 girlsSCDistrict of Columbia: #66 for girls · 21 births · 1 in 279 girlsDCOklahoma: #6 for girls · 283 births · 1 in 60 girlsOKLouisiana: #24 for girls · 192 births · 1 in 130 girlsLAMississippi: #15 for girls · 141 births · 1 in 95 girlsMSAlabama: #24 for girls · 196 births · 1 in 113 girlsALGeorgia: #33 for girls · 240 births · 1 in 174 girlsGAHawaii: #38 for girls · 30 births · 1 in 168 girlsHITexas: #14 for girls · 1,150 births · 1 in 119 girlsTXFlorida: #29 for girls · 531 births · 1 in 144 girlsFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. Montana#5 · 1 in 46
  2. Wyoming#6 · 1 in 41
  3. Oklahoma#6 · 1 in 60
  4. Kansas#8 · 1 in 60
  5. Nebraska#11 · 1 in 67

Best ever in a state: #5 in Montana, 1991.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Montana#5761 in 46
Oklahoma#62831 in 60
Wyoming#6411 in 41
Kansas#82221 in 60
Nebraska#111331 in 67
Alaska#12461 in 73
North Dakota#12561 in 60
South Dakota#12571 in 63
Utah#131391 in 96
Indiana#143911 in 89
Iowa#142031 in 76
Texas#141,1501 in 119
Mississippi#151411 in 95
Missouri#153681 in 88
New Mexico#15881 in 107
Idaho#17581 in 93
Nevada#17751 in 95
Arkansas#181371 in 88
Kentucky#182401 in 89
Oregon#191621 in 104
Washington#192571 in 120
Tennessee#203171 in 96
Arizona#211921 in 134
Colorado#221811 in 115
Michigan#235101 in 118
Alabama#241961 in 113
Louisiana#241921 in 130
Florida#295311 in 144
Ohio#304341 in 162
Vermont#31231 in 109
Georgia#332401 in 174
Maine#34431 in 140
Hawaii#38301 in 168
South Carolina#40931 in 207
Minnesota#421631 in 169
Delaware#44251 in 149
West Virginia#44471 in 186
Maryland#481341 in 206
Illinois#513081 in 252
Virginia#541491 in 248
California#559501 in 275
Pennsylvania#572881 in 247
Wisconsin#581131 in 252
North Carolina#591451 in 275
Connecticut#63741 in 250
District of Columbia#66211 in 279
New Hampshire#70231 in 264
Rhode Island#92151 in 351
New York#932661 in 447
New Jersey#941131 in 413
Massachusetts#105811 in 448

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Shelby
Momentum · girls
Falling
  • 8 spots since 2024 (#657 → #649)
  • 148 spots since 2020 (#501 → #649)
  • 350 spots since 2015 (#299 → #649)
  • Biggest jump: 1,073 spots in 1935 (#1,913 → #840)
  • Biggest drop: 75 spots in 1948 (#425 → #500)
Rise & fade · girls
78 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1913
  • Peaked 1991 at #33 (10,220 births)
  • Births halved by 1999, 8 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 100 for 14 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 14 yrs · run 1990–2003
  • Top 1,000: 91 yrs · run 1935–2025
Share of babies · girls
1 in 183
  • Highest: 1 in 183 girls born in 1991 were named Shelby (0.55%)
  • Latest: 1 in 3,620 girls born in 2025 (0.03%)
Era · girls
The 1990s
  • 48.4% of all girls named Shelby (71,995) were born in this decade
Girls or boys?
Flipped in 1936
  • Mostly boys until 1935, mostly girls since
all girlsall boys
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1910s46#2,833 (1916)#3,661
1920s95#1,961 (1928)#3,121
1930s6,077#119 (1937)#1,073
1940s4,895#187 (1940)#358
1950s3,075#489 (1958)#518
1960s3,267#494 (1961)#537
1970s5,970#300 (1974)#378
1980s7,881#229 (1989)#328
1990s71,995#33 (1991)#47
2000s31,310#68 (2001)#114
2010s11,216#184 (2010)#310
2020s3,003#501 (2020)#601

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Shelby in 1991

girls
#33
10,220 births · 1 in 183 girls
boys
#427
524 births · 1 in 3,856 boys

Top girls' names in 1991

  1. #1Ashley43,477
  2. #2Jessica43,398
  3. #3Brittany29,093
  4. #4Amanda28,896
  5. #5Samantha25,651
  6. #6Sarah25,233
  7. #7Stephanie22,775
  8. #8Jennifer20,673
  9. #9Elizabeth20,395
  10. #10Emily20,311
  11. #33Shelby10,220

Top boys' names in 1991

  1. #1Michael60,810
  2. #2Christopher47,111
  3. #3Matthew41,647
  4. #4Joshua41,226
  5. #5Andrew31,539
  6. #6Daniel30,935
  7. #7James30,514
  8. #8David30,416
  9. #9Joseph29,840
  10. #10John27,809
  11. #427Shelby524
More about 1991

girls

1,875,007 girls got a published name in 1991; 1 in 183 of them was named Shelby, which outranked 99.8% of the 15,466 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 14.9% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Shelby
  1. #30Alyssa10,678
  2. #31Christina10,564
  3. #32Taylor10,253
  4. #33Shelby10,220
  5. #34Kimberly9,799
  6. #35Laura9,644
  7. #36Alexandra9,460
Biggest movers since 1990
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,600Rebeccah#2,600 → #1,000
  2. ↑ 1,221Ieshia#1,938 → #717
  3. ↑ 1,135Miriah#2,081 → #946
  4. ↑ 861Alexus#1,813 → #952
  5. ↑ 676Chynna#1,512 → #836
Fallers
  1. ↓ 568Infant#432 → #1,000
  2. ↓ 510Lakeshia#897 → #1,407
  3. ↓ 466Latifah#701 → #1,167
  4. ↓ 432Martika#757 → #1,189
  5. ↓ 416Cecily#575 → #991

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

2,020,328 boys got a published name in 1991; 1 in 3,856 of them was named Shelby, which outranked 95.6% of the 9,648 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 18.4% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Shelby
  1. #424Donte533
  2. #425Myles529
  3. #426Gilberto528
  4. #427Shelby524
  5. #428Jarvis523
  6. #429Norman520
  7. #430Charlie518
Biggest movers since 1990
Risers
  1. ↑ 4,462Devante#5,382 → #920
  2. ↑ 1,656Unnamed#2,628 → #972
  3. ↑ 1,496Jaleel#2,373 → #877
  4. ↑ 811Gunnar#1,516 → #705
  5. ↑ 672Dijon#1,587 → #915
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,000Arsenio#744 → #1,744
  2. ↓ 773Brittany#995 → #1,768
  3. ↓ 281Infant#389 → #670
  4. ↓ 281Jarret#881 → #1,162
  5. ↓ 273Elton#963 → #1,236

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1991 →