Shyah
A feminine name with origins from Hindu mythology, meaning "shadow" or "dark".
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the first name Shyah. It is a predominantly female name (96.5% of registrations). The average person named Shyah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shyah births was 2008 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shyah. 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
139
~ 1 in 2,465,859 Americans
Peak year
2008
24 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2008 SSA rank
#13,234
Tracked since 2002
Gender
Gender distribution for Shyah
Shyah leans heavily female at 96.5% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shyah as a male name
- Ranked #14,301 in 2008
- 5 male births in 2008
- Peak: 2008 (5 births)
Shyah as a female name
- Ranked #13,234 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (19 births)
Popularity
Shyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shyah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 80 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
Shyah 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 Shyah 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 Shyah
The name Shyah is an ancient one, with roots stretching back to the Indo-Aryan languages of South Asia. Its origins can be traced to the Sanskrit word "shyama," meaning dark or black, often used to describe the color of one's complexion or hair. This connection suggests that Shyah may have been a name given to individuals with darker physical features.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shyah appears in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. Here, it is mentioned as the name of a character, a warrior in the service of the Pandava brothers. While the exact time period is difficult to pinpoint, scholars estimate the Mahabharata to have been composed between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE.
In the centuries that followed, the name Shyah continued to be used, particularly in regions where Sanskrit and its derivative languages were spoken. One notable figure bearing this name was Shyah Sundara, a 12th-century poet and philosopher from the Indian state of Odisha. His works, written in the Odia language, explored themes of devotion and spirituality.
Moving forward in time, we encounter Shyah Ali Khan, a 16th-century Mughal nobleman and military commander. Born in 1556, he served under the emperor Akbar and played a crucial role in the conquest of the Deccan region. His exploits are recorded in the Akbarnama, a biography of Akbar written by his court historian, Abu'l-Fazl.
Another individual of note was Shyah Rao, a 17th-century Maratha ruler who governed the princely state of Sirohi in present-day Rajasthan. His reign, from 1672 to 1697, was marked by efforts to promote education and strengthen the region's defenses against external threats.
In more recent times, the name Shyah has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds. One such person was Shyah Charan Shukla, an Indian independence activist and member of the Constituent Assembly of India. Born in 1876, he played a pivotal role in the drafting of the Indian Constitution and served as a member of parliament until his death in 1958.
These examples illustrate the enduring presence of the name Shyah across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its deep-rooted connections to the rich linguistic and historical tapestry of South Asia.
People
Shyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shyah 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
Shyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 139 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shyah 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 2,465,859 US residents.
Is Shyah a common name?
We classify Shyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 141 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Shyah was 2008, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shyah is about 16 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 Shyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shyah a female name?
Yes, 96.5% of people registered as Shyah 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 Shyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shyah 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 Shyah 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 common is the name Shyah?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Shyah at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.