Shadow
A female name meaning "shadow" derived from the English word.
Name Census estimates that about 1,064 living Americans carry the first name Shadow. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 54.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Shadow today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shadow births was 1993 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shadow. 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.
Key insights
- • Shadow sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 322,138 Americans
Peak year
1993
58 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,393
Tracked since 1974
Gender
Gender distribution for Shadow
Shadow is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,089 total registrations, 598 (54.9%) were male and 491 (45.1%) were female.
Shadow as a male name
- Ranked #6,393 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (36 births)
Shadow as a female name
- Ranked #14,956 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (24 births)
Popularity
Shadow: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shadow 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 458 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
Shadow 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 Shadow during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shadows live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shadow
The name Shadow has its roots in the Old English word "sceadu," which refers to the darkness created by the interception of light. This term can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic "skadwoz," which shares a similar meaning. The name itself emerged during the Middle Ages, primarily used as a descriptive moniker for individuals who lived in secluded or shady areas.
In ancient folklore and mythology, the concept of shadows often represented the realm of the unknown, the mysterious, and the otherworldly. In some cultures, shadows were believed to be representations of one's soul or essence, giving the name a profound symbolic significance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shadow can be found in the 12th-century epic poem "The Song of Roland," where a minor character bears this moniker. However, it was not until the 16th and 17th centuries that the name gained more widespread use, particularly among the Puritan communities in England and the American colonies.
Notable historical figures with the name Shadow include Shadow Watkins (1641-1710), an English Puritan minister and author known for his sermons and theological writings. Another prominent figure was Shadow Winfield (1785-1853), an American frontiersman and explorer who played a crucial role in the westward expansion of the United States.
In the realm of literature, the name Shadow gained prominence through the works of William Shakespeare. In his play "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the character of Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is referred to as "Shadow" on several occasions, symbolizing his mischievous and elusive nature.
Another notable individual bearing this name was Shadow Hawkins (1892-1972), an African-American artist and sculptor whose works explored themes of identity, struggle, and resilience during the Harlem Renaissance.
Furthermore, the name Shadow has been associated with various counterculture movements and subcultures, particularly in the 20th century. It was adopted by some individuals as a way to express their identity as outsiders or rebels, embracing the connotations of mystery and nonconformity.
While the name Shadow may not be as common as some other names, it has a rich history and symbolic significance, reflecting the enduring fascination with the enigmatic and the unseen aspects of human existence.
People
Shadow + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shadow 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
Shadow: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shadow?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,064 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shadow 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 322,138 US residents.
Is Shadow a common name?
We classify Shadow as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,089 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shadow most popular?
The single biggest year for Shadow was 1993, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shadow is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shadow a male name?
Yes, 54.9% of people registered as Shadow in the SSA data are male. 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.