Shaul
Masculine · “asked for”
Shaul is the Hebrew original of Saul, and the name is a passive participle — asked for, which is what the people do before they get a king.
How old is the name Shaul?
Shaul first appears in US birth records in 1973 — 52 years ago. The typical Shaul alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 700 people named Shaul are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shaul most popular?
Shaul peaked in 2021, reaching #3427 nationally. Today it ranks #4249, 822 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Shaul
Ours, offered as ours. The wordplay in the books of Samuel is sustained and deliberate: Hannah asks for a child and names him Samuel; the people ask for a king and get Sha'ul, whose name is the word for asked. The text is arguing that getting what you ask for is not always the blessing it seems, and it makes the argument through names rather than through statement. Shaul is the Hebrew form still used in Israel.
Meaning
asked for, requested
From Hebrew sha'al, to ask; the name is the passive form. The books of Samuel play on the word repeatedly, since the people ask for a king and are warned in detail about what asking will cost them.
Pronouncing Shaul
shah-OOL
Two syllables with the stress on the second. English speakers say SHAWL.
Nicknames for Shaul
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
- 1973
- Most boys named
- 202133 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3427reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%24 in 2025, from 24
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.
Shaul in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sha'ul in Hebrew — same name
- Saul in English — same name
- Saúl in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, New Jersey.
Shauls among us
people named Shaul are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 71,170 born in 2025 was named Shaul
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Saulo test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Shaul's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Saulo climbed just as high around 1975, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Saulo's path sketches the road Shaul is walking now.
Shaul 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
Shaul beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Shaul in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning that the biblical text plays on deliberately.
- Five letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Saul stands behind it as the familiar English form.
- English speakers say it as one syllable, like the garment.
- Saul is the English form and will be written for him.
- The biblical Saul's story ends badly, which is well enough known to follow the name.
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What they receive
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Shaul
Masculine · #4249 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Shauls 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 Shaul are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shaul in 2025?
- Shaul ranks #4249 among US boy names in 2025, with 24 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Shaul?
- About 1 in every 71,170 US boys born in 2025 was named Shaul — 24 in all.
- Will my child share the name Shaul with classmates?
- Shaul will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Shaul
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Guadalupe#4249 · Denny#4249 · Hughes#4249 · Erling#4249 · Rodrick#4249 · Elric#4249 · Ron#4249 · Wright#4249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shaul? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shaul and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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