Sheldon is an English surname and place name that means "steep valley" or "valley with steep sides", from Old English elements. It became a given name in the 19th century, and in recent years it has been strongly associated with Sheldon Cooper, the physicist in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. In the United States Sheldon ranked 623 in 2000, left the top 1000 and has slipped from number 1281 in 2015 to number 2788 in 2025.