Shadia
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "the one who guides".
Name Census estimates that about 746 living Americans carry the first name Shadia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shadia today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shadia births was 1986 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shadia. 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
746
~ 1 in 459,456 Americans
Peak year
1986
31 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,953
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Shadia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shadia from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 213 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shadia 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 Shadia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shadias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Shadia, while Pennsylvania, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shadia
The name Shadia has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "shadh," which means "rare" or "unique." The name likely emerged during the early Islamic period, around the 7th century CE, when Arabic names became more widespread in the Middle East and North Africa.
Shadia is a feminine name that has been used throughout the Arab world for centuries. In its earliest known usage, the name appeared in various Arabic literary works and historical records from the medieval period. One notable example is the "Kitab al-Aghani," a renowned anthology of Arabic poetry and songs compiled in the 9th century CE, which mentions a woman named Shadia.
The name Shadia gained further popularity during the Islamic Golden Age, particularly in regions such as Persia, Mesopotamia, and Andalusia (modern-day Spain). It was often bestowed upon daughters born into influential families or those who were considered rare and precious.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Shadia was Shadia bint al-Muqtadir, a princess from the Abbasid Caliphate who lived in the 10th century CE. Another notable figure was Shadia al-Andalusiyya, a renowned poet and scholar from Andalusia who lived during the 11th century CE.
In the 12th century CE, Shadia al-Isfahani, a famous female poet and calligrapher from Isfahan, Iran, gained recognition for her works and contributions to the arts.
During the Ottoman Empire, the name Shadia continued to be used, and one notable figure was Shadia Pasha, a prominent Ottoman statesman and diplomat who lived in the 16th century CE.
In more recent history, Shadia Amir Afshar was an Iranian writer and women's rights activist born in 1917. She played a significant role in promoting education and empowerment for women in Iran.
While the name Shadia has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions over time, reflecting its enduring appeal and beauty.
People
Shadia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shadia 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
Shadia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shadia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 746 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shadia 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 459,456 US residents.
Is Shadia a common name?
We classify Shadia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 775 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shadia most popular?
The single biggest year for Shadia was 1986, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shadia is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shadia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shadia 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.