Name Awesome

Shiva

#4,369 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

The auspicious one

Shiva has been given to 827 babies in the U.S. since 1980. In 2025 it ranked #4,369 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2021, with 24 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 66% boys, 34% girls all-time.

Babies named Shiva, 2025

1 in 138,000

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Shiva over time

In 2025, Shiva went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19682025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Shiva: meaning, origin, and history

The auspicious one

Sanskrit

What Shiva means

Shiva means “the auspicious one”, associated with śivá.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Borrowed from Sanskrit शिव (śivá, “the auspicious one”).

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

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Shiva is used in English. Its origins include Sanskrit.

Shiva comes through Sanskrit शिव.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Shiva is pronounced /ˈʃiːvə/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 543 boys were recorded with the name Shiva between 1980 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 24 in 2021; its best national rank was #3,852 in 1997.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #6,975 in 2020 to #4,369 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #10,449 in 2015 to #4,369 in 2025.

In the United States, 284 girls were recorded with the name Shiva between 1968 and 2024. Its highest annual count was 13 in 1993; its best national rank was #6,639 in 1983.

How common is Shiva?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 138,000
24 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 71,200
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#4,369
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
95,747 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Shiva 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 95,747 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Shiva. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Shivas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Shiva was born before 2007 — so the typical Shiva is around 18 today.

Median birth year
2007
About 18 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
29.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
71.3%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
543
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 29.1% of all recorded uses (158).

Is Shiva 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
+1,246
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+2,606
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+6,080
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
3.43×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
100.0%
Peak was 2021 (24)
Years since peak
4
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
39.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#3,852
1997

Spellings of Shiva

Shiva is not the most common spelling — Shea is, with 36.5% against Shiva's 2.3%.

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 Shiva is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Shiva was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 666,970 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2New York1 in —
  3. 3Texas1 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. Shiva has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Shiva is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Shiva was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 533,759 across all states with data.

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls 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. Shiva has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Shiva around the world

Where Shiva 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
    #3,256
    in 2025
  • France
    1980–2022
    #4,897
    in 2022
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #2,328
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1978–2005
    #643
    in 2005

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.

Shiva by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#4,369
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 2,606
Best rank ever
#3,852
1997
Peak year
2021
24 that year
First recorded
1980
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
543
Count in 2025
24

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#6,639
1983
Peak year
1993
13 that year
First recorded
1968
Last recorded
2024
All-time count
284
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Shiva

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

ShineShivenShiloShionShirlShivanShivayShiahShivamShivinShivShivaayShiaShiroShivaanShigeoShimshonShigeruAkivaShimonShivanshShizuoShimmyShiraz

Sibling names for Shiva

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 Shiva

Top names of 2021, Shiva's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 1997Boys' names starting with SNepali Boy Names