Shun
Masculine
Shun is given to both — 909 boys and 30 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Shun is a name in two unrelated East Asian traditions and an ordinary verb in English, and those three facts have nothing to do with each other. Which one a reader meets first depends entirely on where they are standing.
How old is the name Shun?
Shun first appears in US birth records in 1925 — 100 years ago. The typical Shun alive today was born around 1984, making them about 41 years old. About 900 people named Shun are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shun most popular?
Shun peaked in 1973, reaching #1312 nationally. See the whole 1973 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Shun
The Chinese Shun is one of the model rulers of legend, and what the stories emphasize is how he got the job. He was not a king's son. He was a farmer with a difficult family — a father and brother who by some accounts tried to kill him — who behaved so well under provocation that the reigning emperor heard of it, tested him, married two daughters to him and passed over his own son to hand him the throne. That was the point of the story for two thousand years of Chinese political argument: rule belongs to merit, not to birth, and here is the precedent. Whole dynasties justified themselves by it, and whole schools of philosophy argued about whether it was true.
Meaningscholars disagree
A legendary emperor's name in Chinese; in Japanese, excellence or a moment
In Chinese it is a name written with a character carried by a legendary emperor; in Japanese it can be written several ways, commonly with characters meaning excellence or a moment. The sound alone does not fix the meaning in either language, and the English verb it matches is an unrelated Germanic word.
Pronouncing Shun
SHOON
One syllable. Mandarin gives it a falling tone and a vowel closer to the oo of soon; American English usually says it to rhyme with fun.
Nicknames for Shun
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
- 1925
- Most boys named
- 197140 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1312reached in 1973
- Change vs 2022
- 0.0%5 in 2023, 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.
Shun in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- 舜 in Chinese — same name
- Shun in Japanese — related form
Shuns among us
people named Shun 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
Shun 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
- One syllable, instantly said, impossible to misspell.
- It carries a genuinely ancient namesake for families who want one.
- It works in Chinese, Japanese and English mouths without adjustment.
- It is an English verb about avoidance, and that will be pointed out to him.
- The spelling is recorded for a few girls, but nearly every child with it is a boy.
- Two unrelated traditions use it, so the family's own account is the one that matters.
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What they receive
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Shun
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Shuns are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Shun are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shun in 2025?
- Shun is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Shun with classmates?
- Shun will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Steven#271 · Stephen#383 · Samuel#18 · Scott#534 · Sean#489 · Shawn#681 · Stanley#863 · Steve#1609
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shun? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shun and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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