Shiah
A feminine Arabic name derived from the term "Shia" meaning "follower".
Name Census estimates that about 203 living Americans carry the first name Shiah. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 60.5% of registrations being female. The average person named Shiah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shiah births was 2009 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shiah. 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
203
~ 1 in 1,688,445 Americans
Peak year
2009
20 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,835
Tracked since 2006
Gender
Gender distribution for Shiah
Shiah is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 205 total registrations, 81 (39.5%) were male and 124 (60.5%) were female.
Shiah as a male name
- Ranked #8,835 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (9 births)
Shiah as a female name
- Ranked #14,970 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (14 births)
Popularity
Shiah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shiah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 96 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Shiah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shiah 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 Shiah 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 Shiah
The name Shiah originates from the Arabic language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "shia," which means "follower" or "partisan." The name is closely associated with the Shia branch of Islam, which emerged in the 7th century following the death of the Prophet Muhammad.
Shiah is a masculine name that gained significance during the early days of Islamic history. It is mentioned in various religious texts and historical records related to the Shia Islamic tradition. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the writings of prominent Shia scholars and theologians from the 8th and 9th centuries.
Historically, the name Shiah has been borne by several notable figures within the Shia Islamic community. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Shiah al-Hilli, a renowned Shia jurist and scholar who lived in the 14th century (1277-1365). Another prominent figure was Shiah al-Tusi, a prominent Shia theologian and philosopher from the 11th century (997-1067).
In the realm of literature, Shiah Hafeez Jalandhari (1699-1768) was a celebrated Sufi poet and mystic from the Indian subcontinent. His poetry and writings significantly contributed to the Sufi tradition and the Persian literary canon.
During the 20th century, Shiah Ismail Khatib (1919-2008) was a renowned Syrian scholar and Islamic jurist who played a significant role in the development of Shia jurisprudence and religious education in the Middle East.
Another notable figure with the name Shiah was Shiah Rizvi (1901-1982), an Indian politician and activist who served as the General Secretary of the All India Muslim League and played a crucial role in the movement for the creation of Pakistan.
While the name Shiah has deep roots in the Islamic tradition, particularly within the Shia community, it has also been adopted by individuals from various cultural and religious backgrounds, especially in regions with significant Shia populations or influenced by Islamic culture.
People
Shiah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shiah 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
Shiah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shiah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 203 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shiah 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 1,688,445 US residents.
Is Shiah a common name?
We classify Shiah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 205 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shiah most popular?
The single biggest year for Shiah was 2009, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shiah is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Shiah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shiah a female name?
Yes, 60.5% of people registered as Shiah 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.
Is Shiah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shiah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Shiah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Shiah?
See how many people share the name Shiah on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.