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Shem

#8,143 in 2025Boys' name

Name

Shem has been given to 755 babies in the U.S. since 1954. In 2025 it ranked #8,143 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1976, with 23 recorded.

Babies named Shem, 2025

1 in 332,000

Shem over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010203018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Shem: meaning, origin, and history

Name

Hebrew

What Shem means

Shem means “name”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Ancient Greek Σήμ (Sḗm), from Hebrew שם (Šēm).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Shem (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Shem is used in English. Its origins include Hebrew.

Shem comes through Ancient Greek Σήμ and Hebrew שם.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 750 boys were recorded with the name Shem between 1954 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 23 in 1976; its best national rank was #2,102 in 1976.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #6,974 in 2020 to #8,143 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #5,476 in 2015 to #8,143 in 2025.

In the United States, 5 girls were recorded with the name Shem between 1970 and 1970. Its highest annual count was 5 in 1970; its best national rank was #9,095 in 1970.

How common is Shem?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 332,000
10 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 171,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#8,143
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
229,791 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Shem 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 229,791 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Shem. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Shems were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Shem was born before 1994 — so the typical Shem is around 31 today.

Median birth year
1994
About 31 years old
Biggest decade
1970s
20.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
40.8%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
750
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1970s — 20.8% of all recorded uses (156).

Is Shem 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
−1,377
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−1,169
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−2,667
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.59×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
43.5%
Peak was 1976 (23)
Years since peak
49
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
23.0% average annual change
Best rank ever
#2,102
1976

Spellings of Shem

Shem is not the most common spelling — Sam is, with 35.7% against Shem's 0.21%.

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 Shem is used

Across 1910–2025, Shem was most concentrated in Utah — about 1 in 100,000 boys, against 1 in 1,074,530 across all states with data. It was least common in New York (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Utah1 in 100,000
  2. 2California1 in —
  3. 3New 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. Shem has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Shem around the world

Where Shem 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
    1996–2023
    #4,992
    in 2023
  • France
    2015–2022
    #5,876
    in 2022
  • Canada
    2009–2022
    #2,778
    in 2022
  • South Australia
    1963–2006
    #657
    in 2006

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Shem by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#8,143
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,169
Best rank ever
#2,102
1976
Peak year
1976
23 that year
First recorded
1954
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
750
Count in 2025
10

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#9,095
1970
Peak year
1970
5 that year
First recorded
1970
Last recorded
1970
All-time count
5
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Shem

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

ShepSherSherifSheikhSheaSheamusSheanShemarSheySheilaHashemSherrySherodSheppardShervinShedSheronShellieNuchemShellySherardShenShepardSherron

Sibling names for Shem

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 Shem

Top names of 1976, Shem's peak yearThe 1970s in fullOther names that peaked in 1976Boys' names starting with S