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Shayla

Girl name · 3 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Shayla: 3 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 3 births in 1997.

Rooted in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, Shayla is a modern anglicised form of Séaghdha, meaning “admirable” or “hawk-like,” though it also draws on the English phonetic spelling of Sheila, itself from the Irish Síle. A notable bearer is American actress Shayla Beesley, who appeared in *The Social Network*, while the name gained wider recognition through Shayla Stonechild, a Canadian model and activist. The place name Shayla does not appear prominently in Scotland, but the Gaelic root links to the Scottish surname MacShay. Interestingly, Shayla saw a sharp rise in Scotland during the 1990s, peaking in popularity around 2001, making it a distinctly contemporary Gaelic-inspired choice.

Girl 1 of 52 years

Peak year
19973 babies
Latest (1997)
#6533 babies
Total births
3since 1997
5-year trend
≈ stablevs prior 5y
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 1997 · 3
Births per year in Scotland. Missing years had a count of 2 or fewer (suppressed by NRS).