Shem
- Last seen for girls in 1970 at #7,995
- #7,679 for boys in 2025, 10 births
- Given to boys 99.3% of the time
Showing
- Peak · boys
- 1976 · 23 births
- Debut · boys
- 5 births
- In top 100 · boys
- neverof 146 years
- Total births · boys
- 750since 1954
Shem over time
boys
Rank among boys' names. Shem has never cracked the top 2,000 here.
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.
Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.
Show data table
| Year | girls | boys | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rank | births | rank | births | |
| 2025 | — | #7,679 | 10 | |
| 2024 | — | #6,469 | 13 | |
| 2023 | — | #6,897 | 12 | |
| 2022 | — | #5,445 | 17 | |
| 2021 | — | #6,335 | 13 | |
| 2020 | — | #6,620 | 12 | |
| 2019 | — | #5,555 | 16 | |
| 2018 | — | #5,320 | 17 | |
| 2017 | — | #5,526 | 16 | |
| 2016 | — | #7,157 | 11 | |
| 2015 | — | #5,289 | 17 | |
| 2014 | — | #5,485 | 16 | |
| 2013 | — | #5,404 | 16 | |
| 2012 | — | #9,709 | 7 | |
| 2011 | — | #9,600 | 7 | |
| 2010 | — | #9,693 | 7 | |
| 2009 | — | #7,692 | 10 | |
| 2008 | — | #9,019 | 8 | |
| 2007 | — | #6,262 | 13 | |
| 2006 | — | #5,781 | 14 | |
| 2005 | — | #5,278 | 15 | |
| 2004 | — | #6,138 | 12 | |
| 2003 | — | #6,258 | 11 | |
| 2002 | — | #6,522 | 10 | |
| 2001 | — | #9,243 | 6 | |
| 2000 | — | #5,040 | 14 | |
| 1999 | — | #5,317 | 12 | |
| 1998 | — | #5,466 | 11 | |
| 1997 | — | #8,110 | 6 | |
| 1996 | — | #6,496 | 8 | |
| 1995 | — | #4,508 | 13 | |
| 1994 | — | #5,868 | 9 | |
| 1993 | — | #5,360 | 10 | |
| 1992 | — | #4,327 | 13 | |
| 1991 | — | #3,636 | 16 | |
| 1990 | — | #4,407 | 12 | |
| 1989 | — | #6,941 | 6 | |
| 1988 | — | #3,350 | 15 | |
| 1987 | — | #3,339 | 14 | |
| 1986 | — | #4,130 | 10 | |
| 1985 | — | #4,698 | 8 | |
| 1984 | — | #3,925 | 10 | |
| 1983 | — | #2,912 | 15 | |
| 1982 | — | #2,709 | 17 | |
| 1981 | — | #2,569 | 18 | |
| 1980 | — | #3,838 | 10 | |
| 1979 | — | #3,018 | 14 | |
| 1978 | — | #2,068 | 23 | |
| 1977 | — | #2,202 | 21 | |
| 1976 | — | #2,054 | 23 | |
| 1975 | — | #2,902 | 13 | |
| 1974 | — | #2,946 | 12 | |
| 1973 | — | #2,405 | 16 | |
| 1972 | — | #2,243 | 17 | |
| 1971 | — | #3,370 | 9 | |
| 1970 | #7,995 | 5 | #3,521 | 8 |
| 1969 | — | #3,314 | 8 | |
| 1968 | — | #2,907 | 9 | |
| 1967 | — | — | ||
| 1966 | — | #3,249 | 7 | |
| 1965 | — | #3,537 | 6 | |
| 1964 | — | — | ||
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| 1961 | — | — | ||
| 1960 | — | #3,665 | 6 | |
| 1959 | — | — | ||
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| 1954 | — | #3,827 | 5 | |
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First appearance
1954
The first year at least five boys were named Shem! It came in at #3,827, and was given to 5 baby boys.
Quietest stretch: 1954–1959, when fewer than 6 boys a year got the name.
Where Shem is popular in 2025
No state had 5 or more boys named Shem in 2025, so the SSA doesn't publish it for any state.
See more about Shem
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
- 1,210 spots since 2024 (#6,469 → #7,679)
- 1,059 spots since 2020 (#6,620 → #7,679)
- 2,390 spots since 2015 (#5,289 → #7,679)
Rise & fade · boys
22 yrs to peak
- Debuted 1954
- Peaked 1976 at #2,054 (23 births)
- Births halved by 1980, 4 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Never in the top 1,000
- Top 10: never
- Top 100: never
- Top 1,000: never
Share of babies · boys
1 in 68,218
- Highest: 1 in 68,218 boys born in 1976 were named Shem (0.00%)
- Latest: 1 in 170,808 boys born in 2025 (0.00%)
Era · boys
The 1970s
- 20.8% of all boys named Shem (156) were born in this decade
Show by decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank | Avg rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 | #3,827 (1954) | #3,827 |
| 1960s | 36 | #2,907 (1968) | #3,334 |
| 1970s | 156 | #2,054 (1976) | #2,673 |
| 1980s | 123 | #2,569 (1981) | #3,841 |
| 1990s | 110 | #3,636 (1991) | #5,350 |
| 2000s | 113 | #5,040 (2000) | #6,723 |
| 2010s | 130 | #5,289 (2015) | #6,874 |
| 2020s | 77 | #5,445 (2022) | #6,574 |
All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.
Want to check a specific year?
See where Shem ranked and which names it was up against. Click a point on the chart, or pick a year: