Shiv
A Hindu masculine name meaning "auspicious one" or "the Adi-Deva".
Name Census estimates that about 2,076 living Americans carry the first name Shiv. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shiv today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shiv births was 2024 (92 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shiv. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Shiv with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Shiv is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 165,103 Americans
Peak year
2024
92 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,784
Tracked since 1984
Census
Shiv in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,241 people with the first name Shiv, which placed it at #6,963 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,963
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,241 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shiv
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shiv is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shiv described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Shiv at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.6% · 2,031
- White3.1% · 70
- Two or more races2.4% · 54
- Black or African American2.1% · 47
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 15
Popularity
Shiv: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shiv from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 719 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Shiv remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shiv 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 Shiv during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shivs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Shiv, while Massachusetts, Ohio, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 91 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shiv
The name Shiv is of Hindu origin and is derived from the Sanskrit word "Shiva," which means "auspicious" or "propitious." Shiva is one of the principal deities in Hinduism, known as the Destroyer or the Transformer. The name Shiv is a shortened form of Shiva and is often used as a reference to the deity.
In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is revered as the Supreme Being who represents the cosmic forces of creation, preservation, and destruction. The name Shiv is deeply rooted in Hindu mythology and has been mentioned in numerous ancient texts, including the Vedas, Puranas, and the Bhagavad Gita.
The earliest recorded use of the name Shiv dates back to ancient India, where it was commonly used by Hindu families as a way to honor and invoke the blessings of Lord Shiva. Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Shiv.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Shiv was Shivaji Bhonsle (1630-1680), a prominent Indian warrior king and the founder of the Maratha Empire in western India. He is revered as a hero and a symbol of resistance against the Mughal Empire.
Another notable figure was Shiv Kumar Batalvi (1936-1973), a celebrated Punjabi poet and writer who is considered one of the most influential literary figures in modern Punjabi literature. His works, such as "Loona" and "Piran da Paraga," explored themes of love, longing, and human emotions.
In the realm of music, Shiv Dayal Singh (1818-1878), better known as Tansen, was a legendary Indian classical vocalist and composer during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Indian history and is credited with establishing the Gwalior gharana (musical tradition).
Shiv Khera (born 1961) is a contemporary Indian author, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. His self-help book, "You Can Win," has been a bestseller and has been translated into numerous languages, inspiring millions of readers worldwide.
Another notable figure is Shiv Naresh Teens (1926-1986), an Indian poet, and playwright who wrote extensively in Hindi and Urdu. He is recognized for his contributions to modern Hindi poetry and his efforts in promoting secularism and communal harmony through his literary works.
These are just a few examples of notable historical figures who have borne the name Shiv, a name that carries a rich cultural and spiritual significance in Hinduism and has been embraced by people across generations.
People
Shiv + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shiv 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
Shiv: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shiv?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,076 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shiv 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 165,103 US residents.
Is Shiv a common name?
We classify Shiv as "Rare". It ranks above 93.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,101 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shiv most popular?
The single biggest year for Shiv was 2024, when 92 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shiv is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shiv in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,241 people with the name Shiv, or 0.74 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,963 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Shiv in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Shiv?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shiv leans strongly male. 2,204 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 33 female bearers (1.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Shiv?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shiv is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Shiv most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shiv in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (2,031 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Shiv in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shiv a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shiv 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.
Is Shiv still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shiv 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 Shiv 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.
How many people have Shiv as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.