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Shaw

#4,835 in 2025Boys' name

Surname transferred into given-name use

Shaw has been given to 1,398 babies in the U.S. since 1914. In 2025 it ranked #4,835 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2020, with 39 recorded.

Babies named Shaw, 2025

1 in 158,000

Shaw over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
01020304018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Shaw: meaning, origin, and history

Surname transferred into given-name use

surname transfer

What Shaw means

Shaw is a given name.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Shaw is used in English (Rare).

Another recorded pronunciation is /ˈʃɔː/ for Shaw.

The naming story behind Shaw

Shaw is a given name adopted from surname. This establishes the immediate naming route. A surname transfer is different from a direct translation of the modern given-name spelling; the family name may have its own earlier derivation.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,336 boys were recorded with the name Shaw between 1914 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 39 in 2020; its best national rank was #1,742 in 1974.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,021 in 2020 to #4,835 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #3,577 in 2015 to #4,835 in 2025.

In the United States, 62 girls were recorded with the name Shaw between 1969 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 9 in 2014; its best national rank was #8,460 in 1969.

Over 10 years its rank rose, from #18,723 in 2015 to #14,678 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Shaw?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 158,000
21 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 81,300
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#4,835
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
109,425 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Shaw sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 109,425 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Shaw. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Shaws were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Shaw was born before 1999 — so the typical Shaw is around 26 today.

Median birth year
1999
About 26 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
21.3% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
48.2%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
1,313
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 21.3% of all recorded uses (284).

Is Shaw rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−534
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−1,814
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−1,258
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.68×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
53.8%
Peak was 2020 (39)
Years since peak
5
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
24.0% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,742
1974

Spellings of Shaw

Shaw is not the most common spelling — Sean is, with 28.6% against Shaw's 0.09%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Shaw is used

Across 1910–2025, Shaw was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 992,146 across all states with data. It was least common in New York (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2New York1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Shaw has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Shaw around the world

Where Shaw ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2020
    #3,848
    in 2020
  • Scotland
    2021–2024
    #727
    in 2024
  • Canada
    1996–2023
    #2,216
    in 2023
  • South Australia
    1973–1976
    #651
    in 1976

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Shaw by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#4,835
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,814
Best rank ever
#1,742
1974
Peak year
2020
39 that year
First recorded
1914
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,336
Count in 2025
21

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#14,678
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
New entry
Best rank ever
#8,460
1969
Peak year
2014
9 that year
First recorded
1969
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
62
Count in 2025
6

Names similar to Shaw

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

ShaeShaiShainShadeShayaShahShantShadShayShaulShadiShaanShakaShayeSharodShakirShamirShakurShanShamusShaynShayanShalomShahid

Sibling names for Shaw

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Shaw

Top names of 2020, Shaw's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 1974Boys' names starting with S