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Home › Baby Names Directory › Shalea

Shalea

♀ Girl

Pronounced shuh-LAY /ʃəˈleɪ/Medium

Meaning: Shalea is a mid-century American coinage built from the fashionable Sha- prefix and a bright -lea ending, echoing names like Ashlea and Shaylee. It was made for its sound rather than carried down from an older name.Low

In 30 seconds: Shalea pairs the popular Sha- prefix with a light -lea ending, giving a soft two-beat girl's name. It has been quietly used since the early 1970s (said shuh-LAY).
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Origin LowAmerican
MeaningShalea is a mid-century American coinage built from the fashionable Sha- prefix and a bright -lea ending, echoing names like Ashlea and Shaylee. It was made for its sound rather than carried down from an older name.
U.S. rank (2010)#13275 ↘ Falling
2010 U.S. births8 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1991
Total births (all-time)≈ 389

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 199119722010

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Shalea is an American coinage that joins the Sha- prefix, hugely productive in Black American naming, to a bright -lea ending. It first appears in United States birth records in the early 1970s and reached a small high around 1991. Names built this way were valued for rhythm and freshness rather than an inherited meaning.

It was never common, given to only a couple dozen girls a year even at its peak, so a Shalea from that high would be in her thirties now. It reads as a smooth, of-its-era coinage and has not revived.

Did you know? Shalea shares its Sha- opening with a whole family of 1970s and 1980s coinages, from Shalonda to Shanae, all prized for their smooth, musical sound.
Overall data confidence 35%
References - Shalea — Sha- prefix coinage with -lea ending; African American naming pattern

Variations

ShaleeAshleaShaylee

Nicknames

ShayLea

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Shalea…

Shanae— a like Sha- coinage of the same era
Ashlea— shares the bright -lea ending
Shalonda— another smooth Sha- name of the period
Shaylee— close in sound and rhythm

Explore names like Shalea

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Shalea mean?

It is a modern coinage pairing the Sha- prefix with a -lea ending, made for its smooth sound rather than an inherited meaning.

How do you pronounce Shalea?

It's said shuh-LAY /ʃəˈleɪ/, two syllables with the stress at the end.

Is Shalea a boy or girl name?

Shalea is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Shalea?

It has always been rare, given to only a couple dozen girls a year at its peak in the early nineteen-nineties.

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