Shelby

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Shelby: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Shelby: Recorded since 1994, it reached #151 in 1997, and it stood at #608 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
67times a registrar ranked it
32years from first to last
#151highest recorded position
12groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#209
1997	#151
1998	#176
1999	#224
2000	#229
2001	#246
2002	#392
2003	#324
2004	#299
2005	#369
2006	#381
2007	#378
2008	#471
2009	#491
2010	#482
2011	#594
2012	#556
2013	#584
2014	#668
2015	#745
2016	#684
2017	#771
2018	#540
2019	#458
2020	#494
2021	#513
2022	#624
2023	#637
2024	#708

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 15 of the 32 years from 1994 to 2025.

In 2024: #708 among girls in England and Wales, #736 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #790 among girls in Scotland.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1994–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1994
First recorded at #450 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1994 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1996–2024
Highest recorded position: #151 among girls in England and Wales, in 1997 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #608 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Shelby appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Girls, with 29 ranked years and 3,137 births registered; the earliest is Republic of Ireland · Girls, from 1994.

Shelby across 4 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Shelby's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#450 (1994)	#450 (1994)	#608 (2025)	15 of 32	63 (1994–2025)	8 (2021)
England and Wales · Girls	#209 (1996)	#151 (1997)	#708 (2024)	29 of 29	3,137 (1996–2024)	309 (1997)
England and Wales · Boys	#2859 (1997)	#1692 (2022)	#2671 (2024)	15 of 28	109 (1997–2024)	14 (2022)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#241 (1997)	#197 (1998)	#418 (2022)	7 of 26	36 (1997–2022)	8 (1998)

Shelby by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Shelby in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	939	4 of 10	235
2000sbusiest	1,176	10 of 10	118
2010s	689	10 of 10	69
2020s	333	5 of 10	67

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 118 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1996 and 1997, when recorded births rose by 108, from 201 to 309.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Shelby appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1994 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #151 in England and Wales in 1997.

Shelby's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#708	53	High	Verified
2024	England and Wales	male	#2671	8	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#637	57	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#2007	11	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#624	61	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#1692	14	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#513	80	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#2125	10	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#494	82	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1723	13	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#458	92	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#2104	10	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#540	77	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#2259	9	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#771	51	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#2734	7	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#684	60	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#4023	4	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#745	52	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#668	59	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#3895	4	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#584	70	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#556	76	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#594	68	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#4647	3	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#482	84	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#491	83	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#3227	5	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#471	85	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#3158	5	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#378	111	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#381	110	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#369	109	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#299	137	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#324	117	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#392	85	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#246	161	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#229	178	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#224	182	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#176	247	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#2901	3	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#151	309	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#2859	3	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#209	201	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	female	#418	3	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	female	#440	3	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	female	#413	3	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	female	#267	5	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	female	#197	8	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	female	#197	8	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	female	#241	6	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#608	5	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	female	#736	4	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	female	#559	6	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	female	#464	8	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	female	#834	3	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	female	#716	4	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	female	#734	4	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#937	3	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#862	3	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#635	4	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#461	6	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#606	3	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#528	3	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	female	#498	3	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#450	4	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	female	#790	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1994 and 2025, ranked in 31 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #151, first reached in 1997.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 309 births, registered in England and Wales in 1997.

1 registrar publishes it in more than one category list, holding a place in each for at least five years — an observation about those lists rather than about the name.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 30 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Sheindy · #2025, 23y
Shekinah · #1484, 27y
Sheldon · #402, 29y
Shelley · #37, 53y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Priya · #151, 30y
Beatrix · #152, 30y
Honey · #152, 30y
Leighton · #150, 36y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Dua · #151, 26y
Priya · #151, 30y
Sadbh · #151, 32y
Beatrix · #152, 30y

Shelby was ranked #151 in England and Wales · Girls in 1997. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Shelby and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Shelby without appearing here.

Shelby moved ahead of

Harald Compare
In 2020 they stood at #2901 and #2901 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2021 that had become #2125 and #4789.
Garry Compare
In 2017 they stood at #4023 and #3079 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #2259 and #4749.
Jade Compare
In 2017 they stood at #4023 and #4023 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #2259 and #4749.
Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2007 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #2671 and #5119.

Moved ahead of Shelby

Leif Compare
In 2008 they stood at #3158 and #3687 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2009 that had become #3227 and #1568.
Mila Compare
In 2010 they stood at #482 and #616 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #594 and #261.
Kirsten Compare
In 1997 they stood at #450 and #502 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1998 that had become #498 and #192.
Summer Compare
In 2006 they stood at #267 and #343 in Northern Ireland · Girls; by 2007 that had become #413 and #115.

Moved the opposite way to Shelby

Ada Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelby went from #209 to #708 while Ada went from #2683 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelby went from #209 to #708 while Alma went from #2096 to #234.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelby went from #209 to #708 while Alyssa went from #783 to #285.
Amalie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelby went from #209 to #708 while Amalie went from #2096 to #1128.

Moved the same way as Shelby

Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelby went from #209 to #708 and Abigail from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelby went from #209 to #708 and Aimee from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelby went from #209 to #708 and Aisling from #440 to #2000.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelby went from #209 to #708 and Alex from #161 to #2253.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1994 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #151 in England and Wales in 1997. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Shelby

Shelby at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Shelby across 4 official records

Shelby by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Shelby appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Shelby

Shelby and the names beside it

Shelby moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shelby

Moved the opposite way to Shelby

Moved the same way as Shelby

Shelby at a glance

Shelby across 4 official records

Shelby by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Shelby appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Shelby

Shelby and the names beside it

Shelby moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shelby

Moved the opposite way to Shelby

Moved the same way as Shelby