unisex name
Shiva
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 1,060
Shiva is a unisex name with 2 syllables. It is given to both girls and boys — about 31% of recorded births with this name are girls. In 2025 it was given to 24 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
- Peaked in 2021, when 30 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 138,141 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Shiva started out as a girls' name and is now given almost entirely to boys.
- First appears in US birth records in 1968.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Shiva over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 5 |
| 1970s | 24 |
| 1980s | 102 |
| 1990s | 188 |
| 2000s | 211 |
| 2010s | 156 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 141 |
How popular is Shiva?
In 2025, Shiva was given to 24 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Shiva is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Shiva
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Shiva also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Shiva over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Shiva
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Shiva — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Shiva
How popular is the name Shiva?
In 2025, Shiva was given to 24 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Shiva a girl's or a boy's name?
Shiva is used for both girls and boys. About 31% of recorded births with this name are girls.
How many syllables are in Shiva?
Shiva has 2 syllables.
When was Shiva most popular?
Shiva peaked in 2021, when 30 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Shiva a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Shiva currently ranks #2,518 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.
Was Shiva originally a boys' or girls' name?
Shiva was given mostly to girls in the earliest US birth records and is now given almost entirely to boys.