Unisex name · since 1972
Shale
56 babies named Shale in U.S. Social Security records since 1972, with the highest year being 1999. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #21,427 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 56
- born since 1972
- 1990s
- peak decade
Shale is not among the current top-ranked boys names; 56 have been recorded since 1972.
Shale has 56 recorded births among boys since 1972, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, 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 1972 to 2003.
- #21,427 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- 56 born since 1972
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Shale ranks #21,427 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 56 born since 1972, peaking in the 1990s.
- #21,427 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- 56
- born since 1972
- 1990s
- peak decade
Shale's 56 recorded births place it above 52.83% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
Shale's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Shale's full recorded timeline at 1997, 57% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 43% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1993, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1999 peak of 9 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Shale popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1972–2003
- Peak year (1999)
- 9
- Annual births at peak, across 32 years of records
Shale popularity over time - girls
21 total births recorded since 1994 (Shale as girls' name)
Shale by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (38 births, 68% of the file).
1990s was Shale's strongest decade.
38 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 68% of all-time use.
Shale births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1970s 8
1970s
8 births
- 1990s
1990s
38 births
- 2000s 10
2000s
10 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 38 births (68% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Shale's data
- Shale's decade-level peak was the 1990s (38 total births); usage has since declined to 10 in the 2000s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Shale
Nearby Names Like Shale
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Shale
Compare Shale side by side: Shale vs Shawn Shale vs Shane Shale vs Shaun
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Shale: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1999)
Similar record span (~31 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, 1972–2003 (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 Shale 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.