Shamus

maleStatistical record

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

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

Shamus: Recorded since 1981, its highest recorded position is #292, and it stood at #4,789 in 2022.

2registrars recorded it
19times a registrar ranked it
42years from first to last
#292highest recorded position
6groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2022

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1235
1997	#1345
1998	#1055
1999	#1505
2000	#1425
2001	#2587
2002	#1519
2003	#1248
2004	#2070
2006	#4052
2007	#2435
2008	#3687
2009	#3227
2010	#2400
2013	#4685
2016	#4810
2022	#4789

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

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in 17 of the 27 years from 1996 to 2022.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1981–2022 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1981
First recorded at #292 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1981 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1981–1988
Highest recorded position: #292 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1981 (recorded 1981–1988).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2022
Most recently recorded at #4789 among boys in England and Wales, in 2022.
England and Wales · Boys

Shamus appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, with 17 ranked years and 118 births registered; the earliest is Republic of Ireland · Boys, from 1981.

Shamus 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.

Shamus'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	#1235 (1996)	#1055 (1998)	#4789 (2022)	17 of 27	118 (1996–2022)	13 (1998)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#292 (1981)	#292 (1981)	#319 (1988)	2 of 8	7 (1981–1988)	4 (1981)

Shamus by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Shamus in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	40	4 of 10	10
2000sbusiest	61	9 of 10	7
2010s	14	3 of 10	5
2020s	3	1 of 10	3

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2000s were its busiest decade — the 9 years of it this list covers, averaging 7 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Shamus appears in

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

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1981 to 2022. Highest recorded position: #292 in Republic of Ireland in 1981.

Shamus'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
2022	England and Wales	male	#4789	3	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#4810	3	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#4685	3	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#2400	8	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#3227	5	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#3687	4	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#2435	7	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#4052	3	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#2070	7	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1248	13	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1519	9	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#2587	4	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1425	9	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1505	8	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1055	13	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#1345	9	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#1235	10	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#319	3	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#292	4	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1981 and 2022, ranked in 19 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #292, first reached in 1981.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 13 births, registered in England and Wales in 1998.

Its record falls into 7 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 7 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 15 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

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.

5decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 5 decades →
9 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years
7separate stretches the record falls into6 to 9 separate stretches →
7 yearslongest absence inside the recorded period4 to 9 years missing →
#4,789position in 2022, its most recent recorded year
15 yearsyears between the first and last registrar to record itAcross 11 to 20 years →
13births registered in its largest year, 1998Under 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.

Shams · #2411, 20y
Shamsa · #1319, 18y
Shan · #414, 23y
Shana · #377, 29y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, 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.

Teri · #291, 19y
Westley · #293, 24y
Cairan · #290, 16y
Latisha · #289, 24y

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1980 and 1989.

Robel · #293, 34y
Ciana · #295, 34y
Meagan · #295, 33y
Con · #296, 23y

Shamus was ranked #292 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1981. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Shamus 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 Shamus without appearing here.

Shamus moved ahead of

Graeme Compare
In 2008 they stood at #4052 and #2870 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2009 that had become #3227 and #4527.

Moved ahead of Shamus

Henrik Compare
In 2012 they stood at #2400 and #3332 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #4685 and #1617.
Gustav Compare
In 2012 they stood at #2400 and #2629 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #4685 and #1920.
Anders Compare
In 2012 they stood at #2400 and #3332 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #4685 and #2055.
Isak Compare
In 2012 they stood at #2400 and #2941 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #4685 and #2660.

Moved the opposite way to Shamus

Albie Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Shamus went from #1235 to #4789 while Albie went from #853 to #29.
Alfie Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Shamus went from #1235 to #4789 while Alfie went from #119 to #17.
Alfred Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Shamus went from #1235 to #4789 while Alfred went from #218 to #81.
Archie Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Shamus went from #1235 to #4789 while Archie went from #192 to #11.

Moved the same way as Shamus

Aaron Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Shamus went from #1235 to #4789 and Aaron from #33 to #135.
Adam Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Shamus went from #1235 to #4789 and Adam from #16 to #41.
Adrian Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Shamus went from #1235 to #4789 and Adrian from #204 to #298.
Alan Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Shamus went from #1235 to #4789 and Alan from #163 to #472.

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.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1981 to 2022. Highest recorded position: #292 in Republic of Ireland in 1981. Source data last verified 2026-07-25.

Shamus

Shamus at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Shamus across 2 official records

Shamus by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Shamus appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Shamus

Shamus and the names beside it

Shamus moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shamus

Moved the opposite way to Shamus

Moved the same way as Shamus

Shamus at a glance

Shamus across 2 official records

Shamus by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Shamus appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Shamus

Shamus and the names beside it

Shamus moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shamus

Moved the opposite way to Shamus

Moved the same way as Shamus