Shahed
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "witness" or "martyr".
Name Census estimates that about 151 living Americans carry the first name Shahed. It is a predominantly female name (93.5% of registrations). The average person named Shahed today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shahed births was 2006 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shahed. 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
151
~ 1 in 2,269,896 Americans
Peak year
2006
15 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
1991 SSA rank
#9,396
Tracked since 1986
Gender
Gender distribution for Shahed
Shahed leans heavily female at 93.5% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shahed as a male name
- Ranked #9,396 in 1991
- 5 male births in 1991
- Peak: 1986 (5 births)
Shahed as a female name
- Ranked #17,230 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2006 (15 births)
Popularity
Shahed: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shahed from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 81 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shahed 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 Shahed during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shahed
The name Shahed finds its origins in Arabic, a Semitic language spoken across the Middle East and North Africa. It derives from the Arabic word "shahada," meaning "testimony" or "witness." The name has been in use since the early days of Islam, which emerged in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century CE.
One of the earliest known references to the name Shahed can be found in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. The term "shaheed" is used in the Quran to refer to a martyr or one who bears witness to their faith. This religious connotation has contributed to the name's popularity among Muslims worldwide.
The name Shahed has been borne by several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest recorded examples is Shahed ibn Abdullah al-Balkhi, a 9th-century Persian scholar and philosopher known for his writings on Sufism and Islamic mysticism.
In the 12th century, Shahed al-Din al-Suhrawardi, a Persian philosopher and mystic, was a prominent figure in the development of the Illuminationist school of Islamic philosophy. His works had a profound influence on subsequent thinkers and mystics in the region.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Shahed Ali Khan, a 17th-century Mughal nobleman and military commander who served under the emperors Aurangzeb and Bahadur Shah I. He played a significant role in the expansion and consolidation of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent.
In more recent times, Shahed Amanullah was a pioneering Bengali writer and activist from undivided India, born in 1875. He was a vocal advocate for women's rights and played a crucial role in the Bengali Renaissance of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Shahed Latif, born in 1936, was a celebrated Bangladeshi poet and writer who made significant contributions to modern Bengali literature. His works often explored themes of social injustice, political turmoil, and the human condition.
While the name Shahed has its roots in the Islamic tradition, it has transcended religious boundaries and is used by people of various backgrounds worldwide. Its meaning as a "witness" or "testimony" has resonated across cultures, making it a popular choice for parents seeking a name with depth and significance.
People
Shahed + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shahed 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
Shahed: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shahed?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 151 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shahed 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 2,269,896 US residents.
Is Shahed a common name?
We classify Shahed as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 153 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shahed most popular?
The single biggest year for Shahed was 2006, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shahed is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shahed a female name?
Yes, 93.5% of people registered as Shahed 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.