Shelby
Girl nameShelby has been given to 165,279 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1991 and currently ranks #649 for girls (2025).
Meaning & origin /ˈʃɛlbi/
From a medieval name, of obscure origin, yet likely an alteration of Middle English Selby, Salibi (“dweller of the willow place”), from salwe (“willow, sallow”) + -by (“settlement, farm”)API.
Origin: surnames
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
165,279
Peak year
1991 (10,744 babies)
Rank in 2025
#649 for girls
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▼ -56%
Gender split
90% girls / 10% boys
Famous people named Shelby
Shelby Rogers
American tennis player
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Shelby.
163,335 babies since 1910
171,384 babies since 1902
155,738 babies since 1891
176,487 babies since 1880
148,842 babies since 1915
142,948 babies since 1916
137,118 babies since 1915
134,206 babies since 1970
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