The Baby Name Wizard

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Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Shelia!

Comments and insights on the name Shelia: | Edit

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Personal experiences with the name Shelia: | Edit

Growing up I was often the only Shelia in the room. As I get older and do some traveling, it seems to be a more common name. I have seen it spelled several ways, "Shelia", "Sheila", "Sheela", "Shela", "Shelah". I once worked in a fast food restaurant where the owner was originally from Pakistan, he read my nametag and pronounced it "She-lee-uh". :)

Nicknames for Shelia: | Edit

She-ra because of the cartoon "He-man"

Meanings and history of the name Shelia: | Edit

According to Wiki:One theory is that it is a variation of the names Celia or Cecilia via the Irish form of "Sine" or “Sile”. St. Cecilia was a Roman woman who was martyred in the third century, and later became the patron saint of music and the blind (hence its etymology).
Another theory is that it is a variant of the Latin name “Caelia”, which is a feminine form of the Roman clan name Caelius which can mean either “heavenly”, or “of the heavens”.
It is also thought that to be a Gaelic form of Julia or Cecilia, from the Latin word ”caecus” meaning “smart and wise".
The name can also be seen in other languages. For example, a variation of the name Sheila (“Sheela”) which is a Hindi name meaning “gentle”.

I have looked up my name many times and it usually gives "musical" as the meaning.

Famous real-life people named Shelia: | Edit

Sheila Esovedo known as Shelia E. (musician);Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Canadian Inuit activist, environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee; Shelia Lowe, author: Sheila Dixit,Chief Minister of Delhi; Sheila Weller, author; Sheila Jackson Lee, politician,Sheila Davis, songwriter; Sheila Bridges, designer

Shelia in song, story & screen: | Edit

"Oh Shelia"- Ready for the World; "Shelia"- Tommy Roe; "To Shelia"- Smashing Pumpkins; "Shelia Take a Bow"- The Smiths; "Tequilla Shelia"- Flynnville Train (all Songs); Characters- Shelia Carter on The Bold and Tthe Beautiful, Young and the Restless; Shelia Broflovski on South Park; Shelia is the lead character in "Identity Crisis"; Shelia is a character in "Why Did I get Married"