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SHARED SPELLING

✦ Two distinct US naming histories

Shem

Used in both girl and boy records

Shem appears in both girl and boy US naming records. Compare the two independent popularity histories, ranks, and peak years.

Choose a record

Shem by gender

Each record below preserves the original rank, use count, active years, and peak year for that gender. The spelling is shared; the data histories are not combined.

GIRL RECORDShem as a girl’s nameUS records 1970–1970
#58832girl rank1970peak year
Read girl record ↗BOY RECORDShem as a boy’s nameUS records 1954–2024
#5378boy rank1978peak year
Read boy record ↗

Popularity ledger

Girl and boy use over time

GirlBoy

Trace the annual recorded uses of Shem in the national name files. Hover a peak marker, move across the chart, or use the arrow keys to inspect an exact annual count and rank.

At a glance

RecordPeak yearHighest rankObserved usage
Girl19705 uses#799419701970–19701 listed years
Boy197623 uses#205419761954–202057 listed years

Annual counts and within-year ranks from the SSA national-name archive, 1880–2020. Names with fewer than five births in a year are not listed in the source files.