Feminine dossier · first seen 1936

Shelva

Extinct Near statistical disappearance
Peak era
1937
Peak births
194
Current vitality
Dormant
Peak generation
Silent Generation

Quick answers about Shelva

How many people are named Shelva?

Based on SSA birth records through 1980, an estimated 330 Americans born with the name Shelva may still be living. No new bearers have been recorded since 1980.

How rare is Shelva?

Shelva has not appeared in SSA records since 1980. It is effectively extinct as a new baby name — no girls received it in the latest available data.

How old is the typical Shelva?

The median age of a living American named Shelva is approximately 76 years, with most bearers falling between 66 and 85 years old.

Is Shelva still popular?

No. Shelva is extinct in new births; the SSA last recorded it in 1980.

Where is Shelva most common?

Shelva has its strongest geographic signal in West Virginia, where it appears 12.8× more often than the national baseline.

1936Peak 19372025
peak 1937 2025 18801900192019401960198020002020
Peak year
1937
Decline from peak
100%
2025
0
All-time
1,117

Shelva is most concentrated in West Virginia — about 12.8× the national rate in the 1930s. It also runs high in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

States where Shelva is given more often than the national average — its present-day heartland.

Alabama: near or below the national rate AL Alaska: near or below the national rate AK Arizona: near or below the national rate AZ Arkansas: near or below the national rate AR California: near or below the national rate CA Colorado: near or below the national rate CO Connecticut: near or below the national rate CT Delaware: near or below the national rate DE District of Columbia: near or below the national rate DC Florida: near or below the national rate FL Georgia: near or below the national rate GA Hawaii: near or below the national rate HI Idaho: near or below the national rate ID Illinois: near or below the national rate IL Indiana: near or below the national rate IN Iowa: near or below the national rate IA Kansas: near or below the national rate KS Kentucky: near or below the national rate KY Louisiana: near or below the national rate LA Maine: near or below the national rate ME Maryland: near or below the national rate MD Massachusetts: near or below the national rate MA Michigan: near or below the national rate MI Minnesota: near or below the national rate MN Mississippi: near or below the national rate MS Missouri: near or below the national rate MO Montana: near or below the national rate MT Nebraska: near or below the national rate NE Nevada: near or below the national rate NV New Hampshire: near or below the national rate NH New Jersey: near or below the national rate NJ New Mexico: near or below the national rate NM New York: near or below the national rate NY North Carolina: near or below the national rate NC North Dakota: near or below the national rate ND Ohio: near or below the national rate OH Oklahoma: near or below the national rate OK Oregon: near or below the national rate OR Pennsylvania: 2.1× the national rate PA Rhode Island: near or below the national rate RI South Carolina: near or below the national rate SC South Dakota: near or below the national rate SD Tennessee: near or below the national rate TN Texas: near or below the national rate TX Utah: near or below the national rate UT Vermont: near or below the national rate VT Virginia: 4.4× the national rate VA Washington: near or below the national rate WA West Virginia: 12.8× the national rate WV Wisconsin: near or below the national rate WI Wyoming: near or below the national rate WY