Sham

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Sham: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Sham: Recorded since 1996, it reached #1,782 in 2019, and it stood at #3,015 in 2024.

1registrar recorded it
18times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#1782highest recorded position
6groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 2010–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
2010	#4012
2012	#5876
2013	#4739
2014	#4003
2015	#1783
2016	#2757
2017	#1817
2018	#2340
2019	#1782
2020	#2843
2021	#4634
2022	#3148
2023	#2201
2024	#3015

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in 4 of the 23 years from 1996 to 2018.

Official data for England and Wales, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #2863 among boys in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Highest recorded2010–2024
Highest recorded position: #1782 among girls in England and Wales, in 2019 (recorded 2010–2024).
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #3015 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Sham appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Girls, with 14 ranked years and 124 births registered; the earliest is England and Wales · Boys, from 1996.

Sham across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Sham's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Boys	#2863 (1996)	#2636 (2002)	#3959 (2018)	4 of 23	14 (1996–2018)	4 (2002)
England and Wales · Girls	#4012 (2010)	#1782 (2019)	#3015 (2024)	14 of 15	124 (2010–2024)	16 (2015)

Sham appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1782 in England and Wales in 2019.

Sham's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#3015	8	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#2201	12	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#3148	7	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#4634	4	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#2843	8	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#1782	16	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#2340	11	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#3959	4	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#1817	16	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#2757	9	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#1783	16	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#4003	5	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#4739	4	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#5876	3	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#4012	5	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#4527	3	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#2636	4	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#2863	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 1 registrar between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 17 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #1,782, first reached in 2019.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 16 births, registered in England and Wales in 2015.

Its record falls into 4 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 6 years.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

4decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 4 decades →
13 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years10 to 19 unbroken years →
4separate stretches the record falls into4 separate stretches →
6 yearslongest absence inside the recorded period4 to 9 years missing →
#3,015position in 2024, its most recent recorded year
16births registered in its largest year, 2015Under 25 births →

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Shakur · #1241, 27y
Shalom · #655, 28y
Shamar · #1519, 21y
Shamari · #2435, 10y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 1 registrar, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Alaynah · #1782, 15y
Emmie-Rose · #1782, 16y
Jood · #1782, 19y
Layla-Rae · #1782, 16y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Emin · #1782, 24y
Ravneet · #1782, 27y
Yonatan · #1782, 24y
Lilac · #1783, 27y

Sham and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Sham without appearing here.

Sham moved ahead of

Tyler Compare
In 2014 they stood at #4003 and #3160 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #1783 and #5730.
Kirsten Compare
In 2018 they stood at #2340 and #1977 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2019 that had become #1782 and #5591.
Belinda Compare
In 2022 they stood at #4634 and #4634 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #2201 and #5687.
Kristin Compare
In 2014 they stood at #4003 and #4003 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2015 that had become #1783 and #4736.

Moved ahead of Sham

Ezra Compare
In 2013 they stood at #4739 and #5742 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #4003 and #1628.
Noah Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2201 and #3218 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3015 and #1743.
Fiadh Compare
In 2017 they stood at #1817 and #2502 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #2340 and #1436.
Rory Compare
In 2019 they stood at #1782 and #4001 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #2843 and #1939.

Moved the opposite way to Sham

Evan Compare
Between 2012 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Sham went from #5876 to #3015 while Evan went from #3681 to #5891.
Arlo Compare
Between 2015 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Sham went from #1783 to #3015 while Arlo went from #5730 to #1894.

Moved the same way as Sham

Blake Compare
Between 2012 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Sham went from #5876 to #3015 and Blake from #1893 to #432.
Francis Compare
Between 2012 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Sham went from #5876 to #3015 and Francis from #4838 to #2574.
Meabh Compare
Between 2012 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Sham went from #5876 to #3015 and Meabh from #5876 to #952.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1782 in England and Wales in 2019. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Sham

Sham at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Sham across 2 official records

Sham appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Sham and the names beside it

Sham moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Sham

Moved the opposite way to Sham

Moved the same way as Sham

Sham at a glance

Sham across 2 official records

Sham appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Sham and the names beside it

Sham moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Sham

Moved the opposite way to Sham

Moved the same way as Sham