Shiloh

About Shiloh

Shiloh is a biblical place name used for both girls and boys, usually pronounced SHYE-loh. It may mean “tranquil” in Hebrew, although its deeper interpretation is uncertain. Its cultural history reaches from an ancient religious center to an American Civil War battlefield and a Newbery-winning children’s novel.

The biblical place

Shiloh appears in the Old Testament as an important place of worship. In the story of Hannah, she prays there for a child and later brings her son Samuel to the priest Eli.

The place therefore has a particular connection with Samuel’s childhood and the religious life described in the books of Samuel. Shilo is another spelling in the Hebrew name family.

Shiloh also occurs in Genesis 49:10 in a passage whose wording and interpretation have long been debated. Some readings understand it as a reference to a future ruler or the Messiah, while others translate the expression differently. This is separate from the securely identified biblical place.

Shiloh in American history

The Battle of Shiloh was fought in Tennessee on April 6 and 7, 1862. The fighting took place near Pittsburg Landing and a log church called Shiloh Meeting House.

Confederate forces attacked the Union army’s camps on the first morning. After reinforcements arrived, Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant counterattacked the following day.

The church’s name became attached to one of the Civil War’s major battles. This gives Shiloh an American historical association quite different from the peaceful meaning sometimes proposed for the Hebrew name.

Shiloh in children’s literature

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s novel Shiloh was published in 1991 and won the 1992 Newbery Medal. Its title belongs to a young beagle found by eleven-year-old Marty Preston in West Virginia.

Marty suspects that the dog has been mistreated and struggles with the knowledge that it belongs to someone else. The story turns his wish to protect the animal into a difficult question about honesty, responsibility, and what it means to do the right thing.

The novel gives Shiloh a familiar literary connection for readers who met the name in childhood. Its title is the dog’s name, while the larger story centers on the boy who tries to help him.

Pronunciation and sound

English Shiloh has two syllables and first-syllable stress: SHYE-loh. The opening vowel is the sound in “eye,” and the ending has a long o.

The final h is silent in this English pronunciation. Shilo preserves the same basic name with one fewer letter.

Its open ending and soft sh sound distinguish it from many other biblical place names. American records show substantial use for both sexes, with neither needing a different spelling.

American popularity

Shiloh has grown strongly in the United States. In 2000, it was given to 97 girls and 74 boys; in 2010, the counts were 480 girls and 157 boys.

The female count peaked at 1,222 in 2024. In 2025, 1,098 girls received the name, ranking it number 281.

Male use reached its largest count and best rank in 2025, with 1,220 boys and a rank of number 278. The two sexes therefore had very similar national ranks that year.

How popular is Shiloh?

In 2025, Shiloh ranked #281 among girls in the United States, with 1,098 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1969; its largest annual count was 1,222 in 2024. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.