Fun Facts About the Name Shade
- More than 2 thousand babies named Shade: U.S. records list 2,024 babies given the name Shade from 1880 through 2025. Even 869 girls received the name Shade.
What Does the Name Shade Mean?
Shade is an English word name taken from the common noun shade, which comes from Old English sceadu, meaning "shadow," "darkness," or "shelter from sunlight." The Old English word could also mean a shadowy figure or a ghost, and it named a shaded place as well as the shadow itself. Closely related forms appear in other Germanic languages, including Gothic skadus, Old Saxon skado, and Old High German scato, all pointing back to a Germanic source reconstructed as *skadwaz.
The personal name carries the same literal sense as the noun: shadow, or protection from light. Some writers have connected the Germanic word to Greek skótos ("darkness"), but that link is not settled, and the deeper Indo-European history of the root is uncertain. Shade should not be confused with the separate name Shad, which is usually a short form of Shadrach; the two look alike but do not share an origin.
Shade Name History & Origins
Shade came into English naming as a vocabulary word rather than through a saint, a royal house, or a translated biblical name. It is also an English surname, where it generally has a descriptive or topographic sense - someone who lived by a shady spot, or a nickname. As a given name it is uncommon in the English-speaking world and is not tied to any one religious or ethnic tradition; it is a word name rather than a form passed down through Hebrew, Greek, or Latin.
Because the name is drawn straight from an ordinary English noun, it has no long chain of adapted forms the way names such as John or Katherine do; its history is largely the history of the word. Compounds built on the same root - nightshade, sunshade, lampshade - show how widely it was used in English. The word has also served as a character name in modern fiction, such as the young bat Shade in Kenneth Oppel's Silverwing novels and the DC Comics figure called The Shade, but these are literary uses of an existing word rather than the origin of the name.
How Popular is the Name Shade?
Shade recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1986. Its best rank was #737 in 1880.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #14,675 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2024 | #17,252 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2020 | #14,841 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #17,588 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2018 | #17,739 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #18,699 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2012 | #19,107 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2011 | #12,000 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #11,121 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2009 | #14,985 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2008 | #9,981 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #11,495 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2006 | #12,261 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2005 | #6,494 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2004 | #12,558 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #5,381 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2002 | #5,640 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2001 | #4,016 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2000 | #3,717 | 35 | 0.0019% |
| 1999 | #4,061 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1998 | #3,628 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 1997 | #3,093 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 1996 | #2,949 | 41 | 0.0023% |
| 1995 | #3,206 | 36 | 0.0020% |
| 1994 | #2,576 | 49 | 0.0027% |
| 1993 | #2,238 | 59 | 0.0033% |
| 1992 | #3,131 | 37 | 0.0020% |
| 1991 | #2,835 | 42 | 0.0022% |
| 1990 | #3,212 | 35 | 0.0018% |
| 1989 | #2,601 | 44 | 0.0024% |
| 1988 | #2,581 | 42 | 0.0024% |
| 1987 | #2,516 | 41 | 0.0024% |
| 1986 | #1,858 | 61 | 0.0036% |
| 1985 | #2,847 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 1983 | #11,673 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #11,549 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1976 | #8,992 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,595 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #5,602 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2023 | #5,418 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2022 | #6,417 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2021 | #5,080 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2020 | #6,231 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2019 | #5,123 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2018 | #4,892 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2017 | #4,906 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2016 | #6,295 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2015 | #4,522 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 2014 | #6,985 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2013 | #4,944 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2012 | #3,988 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2011 | #5,162 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2010 | #4,650 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2009 | #5,275 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2008 | #4,016 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 2007 | #3,775 | 28 | 0.0013% |
| 2006 | #4,080 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 2005 | #4,306 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2004 | #5,444 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2003 | #4,253 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2002 | #4,670 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2001 | #4,437 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2000 | #3,892 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1999 | #3,018 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 1998 | #3,172 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 1997 | #2,495 | 33 | 0.0018% |
| 1996 | #3,091 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1995 | #2,909 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 1994 | #3,015 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1993 | #2,569 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 1992 | #3,891 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1991 | #5,858 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1990 | #4,937 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1989 | #3,779 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1988 | #3,874 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1987 | #5,378 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1986 | #5,832 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1985 | #6,404 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #3,050 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1982 | #4,529 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1981 | #7,106 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #6,120 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #4,785 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #4,110 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #5,030 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #5,488 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #4,244 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1972 | #4,367 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1968 | #4,644 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #4,452 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #3,967 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #3,974 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #3,066 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1952 | #3,069 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1950 | #4,124 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1945 | #3,283 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1943 | #3,973 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1942 | #3,516 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1941 | #3,447 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1940 | #3,869 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1939 | #3,910 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1938 | #2,835 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1937 | #3,479 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1935 | #4,077 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #4,213 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1931 | #2,846 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1930 | #2,762 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1928 | #2,143 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1925 | #3,119 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1924 | #3,812 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1923 | #3,768 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1922 | #3,816 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1921 | #2,139 | 16 | 0.0015% |
| 1920 | #4,877 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1919 | #2,840 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1918 | #2,379 | 13 | 0.0013% |
| 1917 | #2,177 | 14 | 0.0015% |
| 1916 | #3,460 | 7 | 0.0008% |
| 1915 | #2,284 | 12 | 0.0014% |
| 1914 | #2,248 | 10 | 0.0015% |
| 1910 | #1,560 | 6 | 0.0031% |
| 1907 | #1,321 | 6 | 0.0041% |
| 1892 | #943 | 7 | 0.0057% |
| 1891 | #946 | 6 | 0.0059% |
| 1890 | #1,138 | 5 | 0.0045% |
| 1887 | #904 | 6 | 0.0059% |
| 1885 | #825 | 7 | 0.0065% |
| 1882 | #826 | 7 | 0.0062% |
| 1880 | #737 | 8 | 0.0072% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Explore More Lists with Name Shade
Most Popular Boy Names That Start with S
Short Boy Names That Start with S
How the Name Shade Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are spiritually intense and can sting or charm. Your name brings love and new starts into life and attracts money. In business, you are the creator and promoter of original ideas and usually enjoy considerable financial success. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Shade's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Shade's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.