Sham
An Arabic masculine name meaning "flat desert" or "evening twilight".
Name Census estimates that about 248 living Americans carry the first name Sham. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Sham today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sham births was 2018 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sham. 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 Sham with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
248
~ 1 in 1,382,074 Americans
Peak year
2018
33 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2015 SSA rank
#7,512
Tracked since 1972
Census
Sham in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 918 people with the first name Sham, which placed it at #13,233 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
#13,233
National first-name rank
People counted
918
918 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
38.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sham
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sham is Asian/Pacific Islander at 38.1%. The next largest groups are White (35.8%) and Black (16.3%). 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 Sham 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 Sham at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander38.1% · 350
- White35.8% · 329
- Black or African American16.3% · 150
- Two or more races6.0% · 55
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 13
Gender
Gender distribution for Sham
Sham leans heavily female at 85.7% of total registrations, but 36 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sham as a male name
- Ranked #13,727 in 2015
- 5 male births in 2015
- Peak: 1974 (8 births)
Sham as a female name
- Ranked #7,512 in 2024
- 15 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (33 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sham on both sides of the split. Of the 918 people counted with this name, 540 were male (58.8%) and 378 were female (41.2%).
Popularity
Sham: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sham from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 147 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sham remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sham 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 Sham during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shams live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sham
The name Sham is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, tracing back to the Middle Eastern region during ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic word "shams," which means "sun" or "sunlight." This connection to the celestial body suggests a symbolic association with warmth, radiance, and life-giving energy.
In the Islamic tradition, the name Sham holds significance as it is mentioned in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. It is used to refer to the region known as the Levant or Greater Syria, which encompasses modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and parts of Jordan and Turkey. This area was historically referred to as Bilad al-Sham, or the "Land of the Left," in reference to its geographical location to the left of the Kaaba in Mecca.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sham can be found in the historical accounts of the Umayyad Caliphate, which ruled from 661 to 750 CE. During this period, the name was borne by several notable figures, including Sham ibn Abi al-Hakam, a prominent companion of the Prophet Muhammad and a revered scholar of Islamic jurisprudence.
Throughout history, the name Sham has been carried by various individuals of significance. One notable example is Sham al-Din Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, a 13th-century Persian poet and mystic known for his contributions to Sufi literature. Another prominent figure is Sham al-Din al-Isfahani, a renowned 14th-century Persian philosopher and theologian.
In the realm of literature, Sham al-Basri, an 8th-century Arab poet and scholar, stands out for his influential works that explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition. Another literary figure of note is Sham al-Din Muhammad Hafiz, a 14th-century Persian poet whose ghazals (lyric poems) are celebrated for their profound wisdom and emotional depth.
Sham al-Nessimi, a 15th-century Azerbaijani poet and philosopher, is remembered for his progressive ideas and contributions to the development of the Hurufi spiritual movement. His poetic works, imbued with mystical and esoteric symbolism, have left a lasting impact on the literary tradition of the region.
These are just a few examples of the notable individuals who have borne the name Sham throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields such as literature, philosophy, religion, and the arts, reflecting the rich cultural heritage associated with this name.
People
Sham + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sham 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
Sham: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sham?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 248 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sham 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 1,382,074 US residents.
Is Sham a common name?
We classify Sham as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 251 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sham most popular?
The single biggest year for Sham was 2018, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sham is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sham in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 918 people with the name Sham, or 0.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,233 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 Sham 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 Sham?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sham on both sides of the split. Of the 918 people counted with this name, 540 were male (58.8%) and 378 were female (41.2%). 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 Sham?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sham is Asian/Pacific Islander at 38.1%. The next largest groups are White (35.8%) and Black (16.3%). 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 Sham most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Sham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.1% (350 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 Sham in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sham a female name?
Yes, 85.7% of people registered as Sham 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 Sham still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sham 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 Sham 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 Sham as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Sham on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.