Sha
A feminine Persian name meaning "falcon" or "night-dark beauty".
Name Census estimates that about 718 living Americans carry the first name Sha. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 83.4% of registrations being female. The average person named Sha today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sha births was 1989 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sha. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
718
~ 1 in 477,374 Americans
Peak year
1989
40 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2020 SSA rank
#13,714
Tracked since 1962
Gender
Gender distribution for Sha
Sha leans heavily female at 83.4% of total registrations, but 127 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sha as a male name
- Ranked #13,714 in 2020
- 5 male births in 2020
- Peak: 1974 (9 births)
Sha as a female name
- Ranked #17,250 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1989 (32 births)
Popularity
Sha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sha from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 244 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sha by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, Alabama, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Sha, while Virginia, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sha
The name Sha has its origins in Ancient Egyptian culture, dating back to around 3000 BC. It is derived from the Egyptian word "sha'a," which means "noble" or "illustrious." In ancient hieroglyphic writings, the name was often represented by a symbol depicting a falcon, which was a revered creature in Egyptian mythology.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sha can be found in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, an ancient funerary text from around 1550 BC. The text mentions a high-ranking official named Sha-Amun, who held a prominent position in the royal court during the 18th Dynasty.
In ancient Greek literature, there is a reference to a legendary figure named Sha-Nefer, who was said to be a skilled warrior and advisor to the pharaohs. The name Sha-Nefer translates to "noble and beautiful" in Egyptian, highlighting the positive connotations associated with the name.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Sha was Sha-Bakht, a Persian philosopher and mathematician who lived during the 9th century AD. He made significant contributions to the fields of astronomy and geometry, and his works were widely studied throughout the Islamic Golden Age.
Another notable individual was Sha-Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor of India, who reigned from 1628 to 1658. He is best known for commissioning the construction of the Taj Mahal, one of the most iconic and magnificent architectural wonders in the world.
In more recent history, Sha-Nawaz Bhutto was a prominent Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977. He played a crucial role in shaping the country's domestic and foreign policies during a tumultuous period.
Sha-Ri'ah, an Islamic scholar and jurist from the 8th century AD, is also noteworthy for her contributions to the development of Islamic jurisprudence. She was highly respected for her extensive knowledge of the Qur'an and Islamic law, and her teachings influenced generations of scholars.
Finally, Sha-Kazemi was a renowned Iranian poet and mystic who lived in the 14th century. His poetic works, which often explored themes of spirituality and divine love, have been celebrated for their depth and beauty, and continue to be studied and appreciated by scholars and literary enthusiasts alike.
People
Sha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 718 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sha going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 477,374 US residents.
Is Sha a common name?
We classify Sha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 766 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sha most popular?
The single biggest year for Sha was 1989, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sha is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sha a female name?
Yes, 83.4% of people registered as Sha in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.