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Shiv

#1,766 in 2025Boys' name

The auspicious one

Shiv has been given to 2,193 babies in the U.S. since 1984. In 2025 it ranked #1,766 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2024, with 92 recorded.

Babies named Shiv, 2025

1 in 36,000

Shiv over time, 1880–2025

Boys
025507510018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Shiv: meaning, origin, and history

The auspicious one

Sanskrit

What Shiv means

Shiv means “the auspicious one”, associated with Śivá.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Variant of Shiva, from Sanskrit शिव (Śivá, “the auspicious one”).

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

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Shiv is used in English. Its origins include Sanskrit.

Shiv comes through Sanskrit शिव.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Shiva and Siobhan.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 2,193 boys were recorded with the name Shiv between 1984 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 92 in 2024; its best national rank was #1,749 in 2014.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,976 in 2020 to #1,766 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,998 in 2015 to #1,766 in 2025.

How common is Shiv?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 36,000
92 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 18,600
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,766
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
24,978 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Shiv 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 5001%

Put another way: gather 24,978 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Shiv. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Shivs were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Shiv was born before 2011 — so the typical Shiv is around 14 today.

Median birth year
2011
About 14 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
32.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
82.1%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
2,193
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 32.8% of all recorded uses (719).

Is Shiv 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
+27
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+210
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+232
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.26×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
100.0%
Peak was 2024 (92)
Years since peak
1
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
10.0% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,749
2014

Spellings of Shiv

Shiv is not the most common spelling — Phil is, with 22.4% against Shiv's 2.4%.

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 Shiv is used

Across 2016–2025, Shiv was most concentrated in New Jersey — about 1 in 5,000 boys, against 1 in 17,528 across all states with data. It was least common in North Carolina (1 in 50,000).

220 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New Jersey1 in 5,000
  2. 2Illinois1 in 12,500
  3. 3Georgia1 in 14,286
  4. 4California1 in 16,667
  5. 5New York1 in 16,667
  6. 6Texas1 in 25,000
  7. 7Florida1 in 33,333
  8. 8Pennsylvania1 in 33,333

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.

Shiv around the world

Where Shiv 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
    1996–2025
    #896
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1996–2024
    #1,037
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1988–2012
    #771
    in 2012

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

Notable people named Shiv

People whose public names include Shiv, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Shiv by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,766
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 210
Best rank ever
#1,749
2014
Peak year
2024
92 that year
First recorded
1984
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,193
Count in 2025
92

Names similar to Shiv

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

ShiaShiloShivamShivaShimonShineShilohShivenShionShivanshShirlShivanShivayShiahKrishivShivinShivaayShiroShinShivaanShigeoShimshonShigeruShirley

Names with a curve like Shiv

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Shiv, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

CiaranMahdiTahaHadiShayanKainoaMicaiahMalekJacariSyrusJiovanniKiran

Sibling names for Shiv

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 Shiv

Top names of 2024, Shiv's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2014Boys' names starting with SIndian Boy NamesPunjabi Boy NamesPunjabi NamesSanskrit Boy Names