Unisex name · since 1880
Shade
1,156 babies named Shade in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1997. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #4,699 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #7,199 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,156
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
Shade currently ranks #7199 among unisex names in America, with 1,156 babies recorded since 1880.
Shade has 1,156 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #7199 as of the latest data, more common than 48% of boys, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #4,699 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #7,199 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 1,156 born since 1880
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Shade ranks #4,699 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #7,199 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 1,156 born since 1880, peaking in the 1990s.
- #4,699 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #7,199 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,156
- born since 1880
- 1990s
- peak decade
Shade's 1,156 recorded births place it above 89.66% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
7 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Kentucky.
How Shade compares
1,156 Top 30% higher than 70% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Shade's all-time total is 3x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Shade | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 1,156 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 33 | 34 | 22,252 |
Shade's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Shade's full recorded timeline at 1979, 70% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 30% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1890, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1997 peak of 33 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Shade popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1997)
- 33
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Shade popularity over time - girls
869 total births recorded since 1976 (Shade as girls' name)
Shade by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (224 births, 19% of the file).
1990s was Shade's strongest decade.
224 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 19% of all-time use.
Shade births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 28
1880s
28 births
- 1890s 18
1890s
18 births
- 1900s 6
1900s
6 births
- 1910s 72
1910s
72 births
- 1920s 66
1920s
66 births
- 1930s 48
1930s
48 births
- 1940s 28
1940s
28 births
- 1950s 13
1950s
13 births
- 1960s 31
1960s
31 births
- 1970s 45
1970s
45 births
- 1980s 84
1980s
84 births
- 1990s
1990s
224 births
- 2000s
2000s
208 births
- 2010s
2010s
191 births
- 2020s
2020s
94 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 224 births (19% of all-time use).
How Shade compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Shade's total volume
Shade by state
Where Shade concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Kentucky | | 11 | 1.0% |
| #2 | North Carolina | | 10 | 0.9% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 7 | 0.6% |
| #4 | California | | 5 | 0.4% |
| #5 | Florida | | 5 | 0.4% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 5 | 0.4% |
| #7 | Texas | | 5 | 0.4% |
11 of 1,156 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 7 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Shade's data
- Shade's usage has stayed within range of its 1990s decade-level peak (224 total births) through the 2020s (94) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Kentucky records the most Shades (11 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Kentucky names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Shade
Nearby Names Like Shade
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Shade
Compare Shade side by side: Shade vs Shawn Shade vs Shane Shade vs Shaun
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Shade
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Shade: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1997)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Shade draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.