Sheldon
- Pronunciation
- [Shel-don]
- Gender
- Male
- Meaning
- From The Shield Farm
- Origin
- English
About the Name Sheldon
Sheldon comes from the Old English elements meaning "the shield farm" or steep-sided valley, originally an English place name that became a surname before settling into use as a first name. That rugged, landscape-rooted origin gives it a sturdy, dependable character, with the protective image of a "shield" adding a quiet sense of strength beneath its mild, two-syllable sound. Like many English place-surnames, it carries a feeling of rootedness and old-country solidity.
The name's appeal lies in that blend of old English heritage and approachable warmth — a name that feels both established and unassuming, with a touch of vintage charm. It has the comfortable, lived-in quality of a name that has been around long enough to feel like family. Its recorded variant is Shelden, a slight respelling that keeps the same gentle, grounded feel while offering a subtly different look.
Sheldon first entered the US Social Security top-1000 for boys in 2000, reached its best rank of #601 in 2001, and remained in the rankings through 2012, when it appeared at #945. Along the way it stood at #987 in 2010 and #952 in 2008, and across that run it was given to roughly 2,695 boys. Its arc reflects a steady early-2000s presence for traditional surname-names — a solid, characterful choice with deep English roots.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.
Quick Facts About Sheldon
US Popularity History (2000–2012)
Annual US births named Sheldon by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 2001 with 329 boys named Sheldon (boy rank #601 that year).
Where it stands today: in 2012, ranked #945 for boys (216 US births). That's 344 places below its 2001 peak.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.
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Variant Forms
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelden | Deep Valley. | Male | English |
Looking for names like Sheldon?
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Compare Sheldon to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Sheldon against today's most popular boys-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).