Shivam
Masculine · “auspiciousness”
Shivam is the Sanskrit word for auspiciousness itself — the quality, not the god — and shiva as an adjective means kindly or benign before it names anything.
How old is the name Shivam?
Shivam first appears in US birth records in 1986 — 39 years ago. The typical Shivam alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 1,500 people named Shivam are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shivam most popular?
Shivam peaked in 1998, reaching #1280 nationally. Today it ranks #4050, 2,770 places below that high. See the whole 1998 chart.
Where it comes from
From shiva to Shivam
The story of Shivam
The oldest layer of the tradition addresses a fierce deity called Rudra, the howler, and shiva — auspicious — is applied to him as a placating epithet; over time the epithet became the name. The neuter shivam names the quality itself and appears in the formula satyam shivam sundaram, the true, the good, the beautiful. Its use as a personal name is modern and widespread across India.
Meaning
auspiciousness, the good
From Sanskrit shiva, auspicious or benign; the neuter form shivam names the quality abstractly. The god's name is the same word, and calling him Shiva was originally a way of addressing a fearsome deity by a kindly epithet.
How the name formed
- shiva
- Shivam
Related forms: Shivam · Shivam · Shivam
Pronouncing Shivam
SHEE-vum
Two syllables, first stressed. Every letter is sounded.
Nicknames for Shivam
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
- 1986
- Most boys named
- 199894 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1280reached in 1998
- Change vs 2024
- −16.1%26 in 2025, from 31
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.
Shivam in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Shivam in Hindi — transliteration
- Shivam in Sanskrit — same name
- Shivam in Nepali — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Shivams among us
people named Shivam are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 65,695 born in 2025 was named Shivam
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 Rodriquez test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Shivam's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Rodriquez climbed just as high around 1975, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Rodriquez's path sketches the road Shivam is walking now.
Shivam 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
Where Shivam is headed
Shivam should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Shivam beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Shivam 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 with a genuinely interesting history of how a god got his name.
- Shiv is a complete short form in its own right.
- Six letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- It is close to Shivan, Shivansh and Shiva, which are separate names.
- The divine association is strong within Hindu communities.
- Americans will flatten the vowels and say SHIV-am.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Shivam
Masculine · #4050 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Shivams are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Shivam are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shivam in 2025?
- Shivam ranks #4050 among US boy names in 2025, with 26 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Shivam?
- About 1 in every 65,695 US boys born in 2025 was named Shivam — 26 in all.
- Will my child share the name Shivam with classmates?
- Shivam will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Shivam
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Myer#4050 · Hewitt#4050 · Antonino#4050 · Egan#4050 · Johnmichael#4050 · Gauge#4050 · Emran#4050 · Freeman#4050
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shivam? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shivam 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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