Shada
Feminine
Shada is a short American girl's name close to Shayda and Shadya. It is also the title of a Doctor Who story written by Douglas Adams that a strike stopped halfway through filming.
How old is the name Shada?
Shada first appears in US birth records in 1972 — 53 years ago. The typical Shada alive today was born around 1992, making them about 33 years old. About 600 people named Shada are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shada most popular?
Shada peaked in 1986, reaching #2195 nationally. See the whole 1986 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Shada
Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, wrote Shada for Doctor Who, about a Time Lord prison hidden in space and a professor in Cambridge; a strike at the BBC stopped filming partway through, and the story sat unfinished for decades before it was completed with animation. Shada, the name, came from the sounds of its own day. It is short and soft.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Shada may be Shayda or Shadya respelled, and nothing records which.
Pronouncing Shada
SHAY-duh
Two syllables with the stress on the first; some say SHAH-duh.
Nicknames for Shada
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1972
- Most girls named
- 198949 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2195reached in 1986
- Change vs 2012
- −14.3%6 in 2015, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Shadas among us
people named Shada are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Shada sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short and easy to say.
- Rare, so a Shada is unlikely to share her name.
- Close to familiar names.
- The pronunciation varies.
- People will write Shayda.
- It has no documented meaning of its own.
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Shada
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Shadas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Shada are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shada in 2025?
- Shada is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Shada with classmates?
- Shada will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Susan#1085 · Sarah#90 · Sandra#1207 · Stephanie#557 · Sharon#1250 · Shirley#1581 · Samantha#151 · Sophia#5
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shada? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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