Girl · #10,393 in 2026

Shelva

Şəlvə is a village in the Lachin District of Azerbaijan.

Current Rank
#10,393
Peak Rank
#470 (1937)
Total Babies
1K
5-Yr Trend
Stable
1936
First Year
1980
Last Year
1937
Peak Year
#470
Peak Rank
1K
Total Count
38
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Shelva

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Şəlvə is a village in the Lachin District of Azerbaijan.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Origin & history
The village was located in the Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh , coming under the control of ethnic Armenian forces during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in the early 1990s. The village subsequently became part of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh as part of its Kashatagh Province , where it was known as Shalua ( Armenian : Շալուա ). It was returned to Azerbaijan as part of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement .

The Story of Shelva

Shelva first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1936, with 89 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1937, when 194 Shelvas were born — ranking #470 that year. As of 2026, Shelva ranks #10,393 for baby girls with 5 births, with steady use. In total, more than 1K Shelvas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1930s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
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WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
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AR
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LA
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Top 10
11-50
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500+
No data

Names that sound like Shelva

Phonetically similar names — useful when Shelva is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Shelva

What does the name Shelva mean?
Şəlvə is a village in the Lachin District of Azerbaijan.
How popular is Shelva in 2026?
In 2026, Shelva ranks #10,393 among girls' names in the U.S., with 5 babies given the name that year.
When was Shelva most popular?
Shelva reached its peak popularity in 1937, ranking #470 that year with 194 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Shelva most popular?
Shelva has historically been most popular in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Shelva.
Is Shelva a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Shelva is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.
What names go well with Shelva?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Shelva include Dara, Beatriz, Felecia. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

Similar Names

👧
Dara
Peak #470
👧
Beatriz
Peak #470
👧
Felecia
Peak #470
👧
Janel
Peak #470
👧
Mariela
Peak #470
👧
Shameka
Peak #470
👧
Lutie
Peak #471
👧
Myrtis
Peak #469

About the name Shelva

Shelva is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1936 and has accumulated 1K births in the dataset. Shelva's peak popularity came in 1937 when it ranked #470. Use the chart and map above to compare Shelva's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.