Shaheen
A masculine Arabic name meaning "peregrine falcon" or "soaring eagle".
Name Census estimates that about 689 living Americans carry the first name Shaheen. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 79.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Shaheen today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaheen births was 1989 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaheen. 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
689
~ 1 in 497,466 Americans
Peak year
1989
27 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,839
Tracked since 1971
Gender
Gender distribution for Shaheen
Shaheen is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 713 total registrations, 570 (79.9%) were male and 143 (20.1%) were female.
Shaheen as a male name
- Ranked #4,839 in 2024
- 21 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1990 (23 births)
Shaheen as a female name
- Ranked #15,686 in 1997
- 5 female births in 1997
- Peak: 1984 (12 births)
Popularity
Shaheen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaheen from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 196 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Shaheen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shaheen 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 Shaheen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaheens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Shaheen, while Texas, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaheen
The name Shaheen is derived from the Persian word 'shahīn,' which means 'falcon' or 'a royal falcon.' This name has its roots in the ancient Persian culture and can be traced back to the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled over a vast territory from 550 BCE to 330 BCE.
The falcon was a symbol of strength, courage, and nobility in Persian culture, and the name Shaheen was often given to royal princes or warriors. The name gained popularity throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, where falconry was a revered sport among the ruling classes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shaheen can be found in the epic Persian poem "Shahnameh" (Book of Kings), written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century CE. The poem mentions a character named Shaheen, who was a brave warrior and a skilled falconer.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Shaheen. One of the most famous was Shaheen Taj (1768-1838), a celebrated Urdu poet and courtier from the Mughal Empire. His collection of poetry, known as "Kulliyat-e-Shaheen," is considered a literary masterpiece.
Another notable bearer of the name was Shaheen Suhrawardy (1892-1963), a prominent Bengali statesman and one of the leading figures in the movement for the independence of Bangladesh. He served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 to 1957.
In the field of aviation, Shaheen Raza (1927-1986) was a pioneering Pakistani aviator and the first female military pilot from the subcontinent. She earned the distinction of being the first Pakistani woman to fly a jet aircraft.
Shaheen Jafargholi (born 1997) is a British singer and actor of Iranian descent, who rose to fame as a child star after appearing on the television show "Britain's Got Talent" in 2009.
Shaheen Sadeghi (born 1956) is an Iranian-American businessman and philanthropist, known for his work in promoting education and cultural exchange between the United States and Iran.
The name Shaheen continues to be popular in various parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East, South Asia, and among Persian and Muslim communities. Its connection to the noble falcon and its historical significance have made it a cherished name across generations.
People
Shaheen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaheen 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
Shaheen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaheen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 689 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaheen 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 497,466 US residents.
Is Shaheen a common name?
We classify Shaheen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 713 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaheen most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaheen was 1989, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaheen is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shaheen a male name?
Yes, 79.9% of people registered as Shaheen 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.