Meaning & Origin
A female given name from Irish, popular in the UK from the 1920s to the 1950s; variant forms Shelagh, Sheelagh, Sheilagh, Sheela, Sile.
Sheila is a girl's and boy's baby name of Irish origin, the Irish anglicization of Síle, the Irish form of Cecilia — from the Latin Caecilia, possibly meaning "blind" or connected to an ancient Roman family name. Sheila was popular in Britain and Australia as well as among Irish-American families.
Sheila ranked in the U.S. top 30 girls' names in the 1950s and 1960s. In Australian slang, "sheila" became a generic term for a woman — a cultural distinction that gives the name unusual geographic resonance. It has a warm, genuine quality that's waiting for a proper rediscovery.