Shiza
A Japanese feminine name meaning "quiet" or "tranquil".
Name Census estimates that about 174 living Americans carry the first name Shiza. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shiza today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shiza births was 2006 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shiza. 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 Shiza with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
174
~ 1 in 1,969,853 Americans
Peak year
2006
14 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,933
Tracked since 1998
Census
Shiza in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 248 people with the first name Shiza, which placed it at #33,395 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
#33,395
National first-name rank
People counted
248
248 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
91.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shiza
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shiza is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and White (2.0%). 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 Shiza 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 Shiza at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander91.5% · 227
- Black or African American4.4% · 11
- White2.0% · 5
- Two or more races1.6% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 1
Popularity
Shiza: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shiza from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 65 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Shiza remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shiza 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 Shiza 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 Shiza
The name Shiza is believed to have originated from the Persian language, with its roots tracing back to ancient Persia, now modern-day Iran. The word "Shiza" is thought to be derived from the Persian word "sheezah," which translates to "sweet" or "pleasant." This suggests that the name may have been initially bestowed upon individuals with a sweet or pleasant demeanor.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Shiza can be found in the epic Persian poem, the Shahnameh, written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century AD. In this literary masterpiece, Shiza is mentioned as the name of a character, although the specific details surrounding this character's role or significance are not entirely clear.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shiza. One such example is Shiza al-Din Mahmud Shah (1279-1349), a ruler of the Delhi Sultanate in medieval India. He ascended to the throne in 1394 and is credited with consolidating the Sultanate's power and promoting cultural and intellectual pursuits during his reign.
Another prominent figure with the name Shiza was Shiza Quli Khan (1563-1635), a Persian military commander and statesman who served under the Safavid dynasty. He played a crucial role in various military campaigns and was renowned for his strategic prowess on the battlefield.
In the realm of literature, Shiza Ghalib (1797-1869) was a celebrated Urdu poet from the Indian subcontinent. His poetic works, known for their depth and eloquence, have left an indelible mark on Urdu literature and continue to be widely studied and appreciated.
Moving to more contemporary times, Shiza Shahid (born 1987) is a Pakistani-American entrepreneur and social activist. She co-founded the Malala Fund, an organization dedicated to promoting girls' education worldwide, and has been recognized for her efforts in empowering women and advocating for educational opportunities.
It is worth noting that while the name Shiza may have originated in the Persian language, it has since been adopted and used across various cultures and regions, particularly in parts of South Asia and the Middle East. However, the historical roots and linguistic connections to ancient Persia remain an integral part of the name's heritage and significance.
People
Shiza + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shiza 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
Shiza: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shiza?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 174 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shiza 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 1,969,853 US residents.
Is Shiza a common name?
We classify Shiza as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 176 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shiza most popular?
The single biggest year for Shiza was 2006, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shiza is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shiza in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 248 people with the name Shiza, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,395 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 Shiza 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 Shiza?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shiza leans strongly female. 237 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 8 male bearers (3.3%). 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 Shiza?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shiza is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and White (2.0%). 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 Shiza most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shiza in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (227 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 Shiza in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shiza a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shiza 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 Shiza still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shiza 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 Shiza 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 are named Shiza?
Find out how many Americans are named Shiza on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.