Sheila (alternatively spelled Shelagh, Sheilagh and Sheelagh) is a common feminine given name, derived from the Irish name Síle, which is believed to be a Gaelic form of the Latin name Caelia, the feminine form of the Roman clan name Caelius, meaning 'heavenly'.

People

  • Sheila (French singer) (born 1945), real name Annie Chancel, French singer of group "Sheila (and) B. Devotion"
  • Sheila Dara Aisha (born 1992), Indonesian actress and singer
  • Sheila Matthews Allen (1929–2013), American actress
  • Sheila F. Anthony, American attorney
  • Sheila Atim (born c. 1991), Ugandan-British actress and singer
  • Sheila Bair (born 1954), American academic and government official
  • Sheila Bartels, Ghanaian entrepreneur and politician
  • Sheila Black, American poet
  • Sheila Bleck (born 1974), American bodybuilder
  • Sheila Levrant de Bretteville (born 1940), American graphic designer, artist and educator
  • Sheila Bridges (born 1963/1964), American interior designer
  • Sheila Bromley (1907–2003), American actress
  • Sheila P. Burke (born 1950/51), American nurse and policy advisor
  • Sheila Burnett (born 1949), British sprint canoeist
  • Sheila Cameron (1934–2025), British lawyer
  • Sheila Carrasco, American actress
  • Sheila Cassidy (born 1937), English doctor
  • Sheila Chandra (born 1965), English pop singer
  • Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (born 1979), American politician
  • Sheila Chisholm (1895–1969), Australian socialite
  • Sheila Collenette (1927–2017), British botanist
  • Sheila Copps (born 1952), Canadian politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
  • Sheila Coronel, Filipina journalist and professor
  • Sheila Darcy (1914–2004), American actress
  • Sheila Dhar (1929–2001), Indian author and singer
  • Sheila Dikshit (1938–2019), Indian politician
  • Sheila Dixon (born 1953), American mayor
  • Sheila E. (born 1957), American singer
  • Sheila Ellison, American author on parenting and relationships
  • Sheila Elorza (born 1996), Spanish footballer
  • Sheila Faith (1928–2014), British politician
  • Sheila Fearn (born 1940), English actress
  • Sheila Ferguson (born 1947), American singer
  • Sheila Fitzpatrick (born 1941), Australian historian
  • Sheila Florance (1916–1991), Australian actress
  • Sheila Ford Hamp (born 1951), American businesswoman and sports team owner
  • Sheila Forshaw (born 1958), Canadian field hockey player
  • Sheila García (born 1997), Spanish footballer
  • Sheila Giolitti, American painter
  • Sheila Gish (1942–2005), English actress
  • Sheila Gordon (1927–2013), South African-born American novelist
  • Sheila Graber (born 1940), British animator, artist and Visiting Professor at the University of Sunderland
  • Sheila Greaves (1911–2005), British nurse, recipient of the George Medal during the Second World War
  • Sheila Greibach (born 1939), American theoretical computer scientist
  • Sheila Gujral (1924–2011), Indian poet and writer
  • Sheila Hancock (born 1933), English actress and author
  • Sheila Hayman (born 1956), British documentary filmmaker, journalist and novelist
  • Sheila Heti (born 1976), Canadian writer
  • Sheila A. Hellstrom (1935–2020), Canadian general
  • Sheila Henig (1934–1979), Canadian pianist and soprano
  • Sheila Hicks (born 1934), American artist
  • Sheila Horne, American singer and songwriter
  • Sheila Hoskin (born 1936), English track and field athlete
  • Sheila Ingram (1957–2020), American sprinter
  • Sheila Jasanoff (born 1944), American social scientist
  • Sheila Jeffreys (born 1948), English-Australian activist and author
  • Sheila Johnson (born 1949), American businesswoman
  • Sheila Jordan (1928–2025), American jazz singer and songwriter
  • Sheila Kaul (1915–2015), Indian politician
  • Sheila Kaye-Smith (1887–1956), English writer
  • Sheila Keith (1920–2004), British actress
  • Sheila Kennedy (born 1962), American actress
  • Sheila Kohler (born 1941), South African author
  • Sheila Kuehl (born 1941), American actor and politician
  • Sheila LaBarre (born 1958), American murderer and possible serial killer
  • Sheila Lambert (born 1980), American basketball player
  • Sheila Lapinsky (born 1944), South African anti-apartheid and LGBTQ+ activist
  • Sheila Leather (1898–1983) British engineer, business owner, president of the Women's Engineering Society
  • Sheila Leatherman (born 1951), Professor in Global Health
  • Sheila Jackson Lee (1950–2024), American lawyer and politician
  • Sheila Lieder (fl. 2022), American politician
  • Sheila Lochhead (1910–1994), British hostess, prison visitor and writer
  • Sheila Lukins (1942–2009), American cook and food writer
  • Sheila Lyman, American politician
  • Sheila Mackie (1928–2010), English painter
  • Sheila MacRae (1921–2014), American actress, singer, and dancer
  • Sheila Majid (born 1965), Malaysian singer
  • Sheila Makhijani (born 1962), Indian artist
  • Sheila Martin (born 1943), Canadian politician
  • Sheelagh Matear, New Zealand professor of marketing
  • Sheila McCarthy (born 1956) Canadian actress and singer
  • Sheila Mello (born 1978), Brazilian dancer, actress and model
  • Sheila Mercier (1919–2019), British actress
  • Sheila Michaels (1939 –2017), American feminist
  • Sheila Ming-Burgess, Bermudian international fashion model and actress
  • Sheila Miyoshi Jager (born 1963), American anthropologist
  • Sheila McGuffie (1911–2007), British aeronautical engineer
  • Sheila Natusch (1926–2017), New Zealand writer and naturalist
  • Sheila Nazarian, Iranian-American plastic surgeon and television personality
  • Sheila Nelson (1936–2020), English string teacher
  • Sheila Nicholls (born 1970), English singer and songwriter
  • Sheila Nix, American political strategist
  • Sheila Noakes (born 1949), British politician
  • Sheila O'Flanagan (born 1958), Irish writer and journalist
  • Sheila Oliver (1952–2023), American politician
  • Sheila Quinn (1920–2016), British nurse
  • Sheila Piercey Summers (1919-2005), South African tennis player
  • Sheila Radley (1928–2017), English writer
  • Sheila Ramani (1932–2015), Indian actress
  • Sheila Reith, British inventor and physician, co-inventor of the insulin pen
  • Sheila M. Riggs, American dentistry scholar
  • Sheila Rowan, British physicist
  • Sheila Ryan (1921–1975), American actress
  • Sheila Scott (1922–1988), British aviator
  • Sheila Scotter (1920–2012), Australian fashion businesswoman
  • Sheila Sherlock (1918–2001), British physician and educator
  • Sheila Shulman (1936–2014), British rabbi
  • Sheila Silver (born 1946), American composer
  • Sheila Sim (1922–2016), English film and theatre actress
  • Sheila Sri Prakash (born 1955), Indian architect and urban designer
  • Sheila Steafel (1935–2019), South African-born British actress
  • Sheila Taormina (born 1969), American athlete
  • Sheila Tate, American government official
  • Sheila Terry (1910–1957), American actress
  • Sheila Tlou, Motswana nurse
  • Sheila Tousey (born 1959), American actress
  • Sheila Tracy (1934–2014), British trombonist and broadcaster
  • Sheila Vand, American actress and performance artist
  • Sheila Varian (1937–2016), American horse breeder
  • Sheila Vogel-Coupe (1929–2022), English escort; the oldest prostitute in the United Kingdom
  • Sheila Walsh (1928–2009), English novelist
  • Sheila Ward (1936–2019), British police officer
  • Sheila White (1950–2018), English actress
  • Sheila White (born 1988), American abolitionist and human trafficking victim
  • Sheila Williams (born 1956), American editor
  • Sheila Widnall (born 1938), American aerospace researcher and educator

Fiction

  • Sheila Bennet, Bonnie Bennett's grandmother, in The Vampire Diaries
  • Sheila Clare, a character from The Clifton House Mystery, portrayed by Ingrid Hafner
  • Shelagh Turner, in Call the Midwife
  • Sheila Bryant, in the musical A Chorus Line
  • A character in Army of Darkness
  • Sheila Broflovski, from the animated series South Park
  • Sheila Carter, from The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful
  • Sheila Canning, character from the soap opera, Neighbours
  • Sheila Corkhill, from the British soap opera Brookside
  • Sheila Franklin, a character and a song in the musical Hair
  • Sheila Futterman, in Gremlins
  • Sheila Gallagher, from the British television series Shameless
  • Sheila Grant, in the British soap opera Brookside
  • Sheila Tubman, in Judy Blume's book series Fudge
  • Sheila R. Webb, in Agatha Christie's novel The Clocks
  • Sheela na gig, a female character in ancient figurative carvings, used as architectural grotesques on churches, castles and other buildings, particularly in Ireland and Great Britain
  • Sheila, one of the main characters in the animated television series Dungeons and Dragons
  • Sheila, from Mis Adorables Vecinos (2004–2006), played by Yaiza Esteve
  • Sheila, one of the main characters in the anime series Tweeny Witches
  • Sheila, from SheZow
  • Sheila, a playable kangaroo in the PlayStation game Spyro: Year of the Dragon
  • Sheila, from item song "Sheila Ki Jawani", portrayed by Katrina Kaif from film Tees Maar Khan
  • Sheila Birling, from J. B. Priestley's play An Inspector Calls
  • Sheila, a yacht in the film The Last of Sheila named after one of the characters, Sheila Greene
  • Sheila Take a Bow, 1987 single by The Smiths.
  • Sheila, from manga Hunter x Hunter

See also

  • Shelia
  • Scheila
  • Shyla