Shaheem
Masculine
Kareem, Raheem, Haleem, Waseem and Shaheem all share one Arabic template. The pattern that produces adjectives of quality puts a long ee in the second syllable, and a whole family of American names carries it.
How old is the name Shaheem?
Shaheem first appears in US birth records in 1976 — 49 years ago. The typical Shaheem alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 700 people named Shaheem are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shaheem most popular?
Shaheem peaked in 1997, reaching #1933 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 8,762 places below that high. See the whole 1997 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Shaheem
Arabic builds words by fitting a three-consonant root into a template, and one of the commonest templates produces adjectives describing a settled quality: karim, generous; rahim, merciful; halim, forbearing; jamil, beautiful; wasim, handsome. All of them have a long vowel in the second syllable and the stress on it, which gives the family its instantly recognizable rhythm. American naming borrowed the rhythm. Some of the resulting names are genuine Arabic words carried by Muslim families, and some are formed on the template with consonants that do not make a real root, which is exactly what English speakers do when they coin words that sound Latin. Distinguishing the two requires a dictionary, and the honest position for a name like this is that the pattern is real and the word is not attested.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Shaheem is an American formation on the Arabic adjective template that gives Kareem, generous, and Raheem, merciful. No Arabic word shahim with an established meaning underlies it, so the name takes the shape of the pattern without a documented root. The peak is 1997.
Pronouncing Shaheem
shah-HEEM
Two syllables, stress on the second. The doubled ee marks the long vowel of the Arabic template.
Nicknames for Shaheem
Moderate
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
- 1976
- Most boys named
- 199747 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1933reached in 1997
- Change vs 2024
- +20.0%6 in 2025, from 5
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.
Shaheem in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Shaheim in English — spelling variant
- Rahim in Arabic — related form
Shaheems among us
people named Shaheem are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Shaheem
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Shaheem
- #10695
- Shaheem on the 2025 chart
- #914
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Shaheem went to 6 boys in 2025, but Shahem is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 14, which makes it the 914th most-given boys’ name of the year — 9,781 places above the chart.
- Shahem8
- Shaheem6
About 1 boy in 122,005 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 284,679 for Shaheem itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Socorro test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Shaheem's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Socorro climbed just as high around 1929, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Socorro's path sketches the road Shaheem is walking now.
Shaheem sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Shaheem beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Shaheem in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two syllables with a firm ending.
- It sits in a large and familiar family of names.
- The spelling is phonetically clear.
- It is formed on an Arabic pattern without an attested Arabic root.
- Several spellings compete.
- The 1997 peak dates it closely.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Shaheem to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Shaheem? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Shaheem
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Shaheems are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Shaheem are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Shaheem?
- Shaheem is one of 2 recorded spellings. Shahem is the more common one — 8 births in 2025 against 6 for Shaheem.
- How popular is the name Shaheem in 2025?
- Shaheem ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Shaheem?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Shaheem — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Shaheem with classmates?
- Shaheem will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Shaheem
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Dudley#10695 · Dell#10695 · Buford#10695 · Toney#10695 · Allison#10695 · Candido#10695 · Jodie#10695 · Nora#10695
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shaheem? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shaheem and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle