Shea comes from the Irish surname Ó Séaghdha, which means "descendant of Séaghdha", a personal name usually explained as "hawk-like" or "admirable". It is used for both sexes in the United States, where the spellings Shay and Shae are also common for girls. For girls Shea peaked at number 725 in 2000 and has hovered just outside the top 1000 since, standing at number 1159 in 2025.