"Sheila" meaning in English

See Sheila in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proper name

Etymology: Anglicized spelling of Irish Síle, equivalent to Cecilia. Doublet of Cecilia. Etymology templates: {{bor|en|ga|Síle}} Irish Síle, {{doublet|en|Cecilia}} Doublet of Cecilia Head templates: {{en-prop}} Sheila
  1. A female given name from Irish, popular in the UK from the 1920s to the 1950s; variant forms Shelagh, Sheelagh, Sheilagh, Sheela, Sile. Translations (female given name): Sheila (Cebuano), Síle [feminine] (Irish), シェイラ (Sheira) (Japanese), シイラ (Shīra) (Japanese), Sheila [feminine] (Portuguese), Sìle [feminine] (Scottish Gaelic)
    Sense id: en-Sheila-en-name-cNNyrz7q Categories (other): English female given names, English given names, English entries with incorrect language header, English undefined derivations, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 4 entries, Pages with entries, Terms with Cebuano translations, Terms with Irish translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 47 53 Disambiguation of English undefined derivations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Pages with 4 entries: 41 33 18 7 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 37 43 14 6
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Proper name

Etymology: From Hindi शीला (śīlā), from Sanskrit शील (śīla, “character, good conduct”). Etymology templates: {{uder|en|hi|शीला}} Hindi शीला (śīlā), {{uder|en|sa|शील||character, good conduct}} Sanskrit शील (śīla, “character, good conduct”) Head templates: {{en-proper noun}} Sheila
  1. Alternative form of Sheela. Tags: alt-of, alternative Alternative form of: Sheela
    Sense id: en-Sheila-en-name-K86Qm3vI Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English undefined derivations, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 47 53 Disambiguation of English undefined derivations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 37 43 14 6
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Alternative forms

{
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Cebuano",
      "lang_code": "ceb",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "word": "Sheila"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "word": "シェイラ"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "word": "Sheila"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "word": "Sheila"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ga",
        "3": "Síle"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish Síle",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Cecilia"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of Cecilia",
      "name": "doublet"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Anglicized spelling of Irish Síle, equivalent to Cecilia. Doublet of Cecilia.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Sheila",
      "name": "en-prop"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English female given names",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English given names",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "47 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English undefined derivations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "41 33 18 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 4 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "37 43 14 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Cebuano translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Irish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              84,
              90
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1874, William Black, A Princess of Thule, Adamant Media Corporation, →ISBN, page 295:",
          "text": "Were English girls not good enough for him that he must needs come up and take away Sheila Mackenzie, and keep her there in the South.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              179,
              185
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1933, Eleanor Farjeon, “Girls' Names”, in Over the Garden Wall, Faber and Faber, page 91:",
          "text": "What lovely names for girls there are! / There's Stella like the Evening Star, / And Sylvia like a rustling tree, / And Lola like a melody, / And Flora like a flowery morn, / And Sheila like a field of corn,",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              25,
              31
            ],
            [
              106,
              112
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2008, Helen Walsh, Once Upon a Time in England, →ISBN:",
          "text": "He shortened her name to Sheila which, in spite of its primness, she seemed to love. - - - For Susheela - Sheila, as she was now known - this creeping daylight signalled the start, not the end of sleep.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A female given name from Irish, popular in the UK from the 1920s to the 1950s; variant forms Shelagh, Sheelagh, Sheilagh, Sheela, Sile."
      ],
      "id": "en-Sheila-en-name-cNNyrz7q",
      "links": [
        [
          "given name",
          "given name"
        ],
        [
          "Shelagh",
          "Shelagh#English"
        ],
        [
          "Sheelagh",
          "Sheelagh#English"
        ],
        [
          "Sheilagh",
          "Sheilagh#English"
        ],
        [
          "Sheela",
          "Sheela#English"
        ],
        [
          "Sile",
          "Sile#English"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ceb",
          "lang": "Cebuano",
          "lang_code": "ceb",
          "sense": "female given name",
          "word": "Sheila"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "lang_code": "ga",
          "sense": "female given name",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Síle"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "lang_code": "ja",
          "roman": "Sheira",
          "sense": "female given name",
          "word": "シェイラ"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "lang_code": "ja",
          "roman": "Shīra",
          "sense": "female given name",
          "word": "シイラ"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "female given name",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Sheila"
        },
        {
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "lang_code": "gd",
          "sense": "female given name",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Sìle"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Sheila"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hi",
        "3": "शीला"
      },
      "expansion": "Hindi शीला (śīlā)",
      "name": "uder"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sa",
        "3": "शील",
        "4": "",
        "5": "character, good conduct"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit शील (śīla, “character, good conduct”)",
      "name": "uder"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Hindi शीला (śīlā), from Sanskrit शील (śīla, “character, good conduct”).",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Sheila",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "Sheela"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "47 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English undefined derivations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "37 43 14 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of Sheela."
      ],
      "id": "en-Sheila-en-name-K86Qm3vI",
      "links": [
        [
          "Sheela",
          "Sheela#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Sheila"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English doublets",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms borrowed from Irish",
    "English terms derived from Hindi",
    "English terms derived from Irish",
    "English terms derived from Sanskrit",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English undefined derivations",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 4 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Cebuano translations",
    "Terms with Irish translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations"
  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Cebuano",
      "lang_code": "ceb",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "word": "Sheila"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "word": "シェイラ"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "word": "Sheila"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "word": "Sheila"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ga",
        "3": "Síle"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish Síle",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Cecilia"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of Cecilia",
      "name": "doublet"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Anglicized spelling of Irish Síle, equivalent to Cecilia. Doublet of Cecilia.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Sheila",
      "name": "en-prop"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English female given names",
        "English female given names from Irish",
        "English given names",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              84,
              90
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1874, William Black, A Princess of Thule, Adamant Media Corporation, →ISBN, page 295:",
          "text": "Were English girls not good enough for him that he must needs come up and take away Sheila Mackenzie, and keep her there in the South.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              179,
              185
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1933, Eleanor Farjeon, “Girls' Names”, in Over the Garden Wall, Faber and Faber, page 91:",
          "text": "What lovely names for girls there are! / There's Stella like the Evening Star, / And Sylvia like a rustling tree, / And Lola like a melody, / And Flora like a flowery morn, / And Sheila like a field of corn,",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              25,
              31
            ],
            [
              106,
              112
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2008, Helen Walsh, Once Upon a Time in England, →ISBN:",
          "text": "He shortened her name to Sheila which, in spite of its primness, she seemed to love. - - - For Susheela - Sheila, as she was now known - this creeping daylight signalled the start, not the end of sleep.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A female given name from Irish, popular in the UK from the 1920s to the 1950s; variant forms Shelagh, Sheelagh, Sheilagh, Sheela, Sile."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "given name",
          "given name"
        ],
        [
          "Shelagh",
          "Shelagh#English"
        ],
        [
          "Sheelagh",
          "Sheelagh#English"
        ],
        [
          "Sheilagh",
          "Sheilagh#English"
        ],
        [
          "Sheela",
          "Sheela#English"
        ],
        [
          "Sile",
          "Sile#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ceb",
      "lang": "Cebuano",
      "lang_code": "ceb",
      "sense": "female given name",
      "word": "Sheila"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "lang_code": "ga",
      "sense": "female given name",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Síle"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "roman": "Sheira",
      "sense": "female given name",
      "word": "シェイラ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "roman": "Shīra",
      "sense": "female given name",
      "word": "シイラ"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "female given name",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Sheila"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "lang_code": "gd",
      "sense": "female given name",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Sìle"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Sheila"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms derived from Hindi",
    "English terms derived from Sanskrit",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English undefined derivations",
    "Pages with 4 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hi",
        "3": "शीला"
      },
      "expansion": "Hindi शीला (śīlā)",
      "name": "uder"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sa",
        "3": "शील",
        "4": "",
        "5": "character, good conduct"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit शील (śīla, “character, good conduct”)",
      "name": "uder"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Hindi शीला (śīlā), from Sanskrit शील (śīla, “character, good conduct”).",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Sheila",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "Sheela"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of Sheela."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Sheela",
          "Sheela#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Sheila"
}

Download raw JSONL data for Sheila meaning in English (4.7kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-02-11 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-02-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 59dc20b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.