Shaw
Masculine · “a small wood or thicket”
Shaw is given to both — 1,336 boys and 62 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Shaw is a small wood: a thicket at the edge of a field, the kind of copse that gave a family its address before addresses existed. In Scotland the same spelling covers something else entirely, a clan name from a Gaelic word, so the surname has two histories and both are old.
How old is the name Shaw?
Shaw first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Shaw alive today was born around 2000, making them about 25 years old. About 1,300 people named Shaw are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shaw most popular?
Shaw peaked in 1974, reaching #1692 nationally. Today it ranks #4707, 3,015 places below that high. See the whole 1974 chart.
Where it comes from
From sceaga to Shaw
The story of Shaw
English surnames drawn from landscape features are among the oldest in the language: a man who lived by the shaw was called for it, and his descendants kept the word long after the wood was cleared. Scotland's Shaws are a separate line, a Highland clan associated with Clan Chattan whose name came to be spelled the same way in English records. Both crossed to America early, and Shaw became a first name in the ordinary American manner, moved forward first as a mother's maiden name and then given freely.
Meaningscholars disagree
a small wood or thicket
English Shaw is from Old English sceaga, a copse or strip of woodland, and that is the source of most English families with the name. Scottish Shaw is generally traced to a Gaelic personal name, and the clan's own tradition connects it to a word for a wolf. Both are documented; which applies depends on where the family came from.
How the name formed
- sceaga
- Shaw
Pronouncing Shaw
SHAW
One syllable, rhyming with law. There is no other reading.
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
- 1914
- Most boys named
- 201236 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1692reached in 1974
- Change vs 2024
- −16.0%21 in 2025, from 25
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.
Shaw in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Shaws among us
people named Shaw are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 81,337 born in 2025 was named Shaw
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 Gaspar test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Shaw's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Gaspar climbed just as high around 1930, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Gaspar's path sketches the road Shaw is walking now.
Shaw 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
Shaw beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Shaw in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable and four letters: it cannot be mispronounced or misspelled.
- It works equally well as a first name and a surname, which suits families using both.
- It carries a documented English and Scottish history rather than being a modern coinage.
- Very short names give a child nothing to shorten and no change of register.
- It is a well-known surname, so it will sometimes be read as a last name written first.
- Shea, Shay and Shaun are close in sound and get substituted in speech.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Shaw to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Shaw
Masculine · #4707 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Shaws are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Shaw are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shaw in 2025?
- Shaw ranks #4707 among US boy names in 2025, with 21 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Shaw?
- About 1 in every 81,337 US boys born in 2025 was named Shaw — 21 in all.
- Will my child share the name Shaw with classmates?
- Shaw will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Shaw
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ole#4707 · Shelton#4707 · Constantino#4707 · Adel#4707 · Cord#4707 · Zalman#4707 · Montez#4707 · Homer#4707
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shaw? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shaw and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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