How popular is the baby name Shyheim in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Shyheim.

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Popularity of the baby name Shyheim


Posts that mention the name Shyheim

What gave the baby name Jaheim a boost in 2001?

Jaheim's album "Ghetto Love" (2001)
Jaheim album

In 2000 — a few years after the emergence of Shyheim — the similar name Jaheim appeared for the first time in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 2003: 552 baby boys named Jaheim [rank: 456th]
  • 2002: 752 baby boys named Jaheim [rank: 356th] – peak usage
  • 2001: 554 baby boys named Jaheim [rank: 437th]
  • 2000: 10 baby boys named Jaheim
  • 1999: unlisted
  • 1998: unlisted

The next year, it saw a massive increase in usage — so big that Jaheim became the fastest-rising boy name of 2001. (The fastest-rising girl name of 2001, incidentally, was the notorious Nevaeh.)

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Jaheim in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Jaheim

The sudden trendiness of Jaheim also gave a boost to several variant spellings, such as…

19992000200120022003
Jaheem59131182115
Jahiem..155*235196
Jyheim..9*77
Jahem..6*96
Jyheem..6*6.
Jahim..5*7.
Jaheam...5*5
Jyhiem...5*.
Jaiheem...5*.
Jaheen...5*.
*Debut

The variant spelling Jahiem debuted so impressively in 2001 that it now ranks as the 9th-highest boy name debut of all time.

So what influenced all these names?

New Jersey-born R&B singer Jaheim (pronounced jah-HEEM) Hoagland — known mononymously as Jaheim — who began releasing music in late 2000.

His first hit songs were “Could It Be,” which peaked at #26 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in March of 2001, and “Anything,” which peaked at #28 in April of 2002.

Interestingly, Jaheim referred to himself as “Jah” in the titles of two of the interludes on his debut album, Ghetto Love (2001). This wasn’t enough to have any impact on the name Jah, though.

What are your thoughts on the name Jaheim? (How would you spell it?)

P.S. Jaheim’s grandfather was soul singer Victor Hoagland, who performed under the name “Hoagy Lands.” (Not to be confused with Hoagy Carmichael…)

Sources: Jaheim – Wikipedia, Jaheim – Billboard, Jaheim biography – AllMusic

Where did the baby name Shyheim come from in 1994?

Shyheim's album "AKA the Rugged Child" (1994).
Shyheim album

The name Shyheim debuted impressively in the U.S. baby name data in 1994:

  • 1997: 102 baby boys named Shyheim
  • 1996: 110 baby boys named Shyheim
  • 1995: 83 baby boys named Shyheim
  • 1994: 168 baby boys named Shyheim [rank: 819th]
  • 1993: unlisted
  • 1992: unlisted

In fact, Shyheim was the top boy-name debut of 1994, reaching the top 1,000 for the first and only time that year.

Graph of the usage of the baby name Shyheim in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Shyheim

A number of variant forms also popped up in the data in the mid-1990s:

19931994199519961997
Sheheem1836312747
Shyheem.23*201629
Shyhiem.17*171120
Shaheim14*13917
Shiheem.6*12810
Shaiheem.5*...
Shahiem..9*56
Shiheim...5*.
Shyhem...5*.
*Debut

So what caused this sudden interest in the name?

Shyheim (pronounced shy-HEEM or shah-HEEM) — in full, Shyheim Dionel Franklin — a teenage rapper from New York City who was affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan.

Shyheim’s most successful single, “On and On,” was released in late 1993 and reached #89 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in April of 1994. The same month, he released his successful debut album, AKA the Rugged Child. This was followed by his equally successful second album, The Lost Generation, in mid-1996.

Since then, though, Shyheim’s musical output hasn’t been as well-received, and the usage of the name has declined accordingly.

What are your thoughts on the name Shyheim? (How would you spell it?)

Sources: Shyheim – Wikipedia, Billboard Hot 100 (Week of April 9, 1994)

Boy names on the decline in the U.S. in 2021

fallen leaves

Which boy names decreased in usage the most from 2020 to 2021?

Here’s a table of the fastest-falling boy names of 2021. On the left are the top 25 decreases in terms of absolute numbers of babies, and on the right are the top 25 decreases in terms of relative numbers of babies.

RankBoy nameAbsolute fallBoy nameRelative fall
1Mason-1,035Dontavious-78%
2Alexander-880Karder-75%
3Jacob-860Azarius-74%
4Michael-742Daelan-74%
5Ethan-717Daijon-73%
6Matthew-685Alante-72%
7Connor-650Jafari-72%
8Ryan-613Kova-72%
9Hunter-595Dasan-71%
10William-525Issiah-71%
11Joshua-509Aldair-70%
12Emmanuel-491Makbel-70%
13Jaxson-489Kyre-69%
14Christian-487Joaopedro-69%
15Colton-477Khiro-69%
16Andrew-466Kix-69%
17Brayden-452Naoki-69%
18Jaxon-440Carrick-68%
19Karter-434Feliciano-68%
20Carson-430Drexel-67%
21Elijah-428Dairon-67%
22Benjamin-418Marken-67%
23Daniel-411Amarri-67%
24Kobe-399Shyheim-67%
25Carter-389Braxxton*-65%

*Also at -65% was Montavious.

Kobe was 2020’s largest absolute increase by a good margin. (The second name on that list, Theodore, broke into the top 10 in 2021.)

Here are the boy names that saw the steepest dives out of the data (i.e., to below 5 instances of usage) in 2021:

  • given to 26 babies in 2020: Burhanuddin
  • given to 20 babies in 2020: Bader
  • given to 18 babies in 2020: Hyatt, Reylan
  • given to 17 babies in 2020: Abdelrahman
  • given to 16 babies in 2020: Kymeir

Do you have thoughts/insights about any of the above names?

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Fall (6282684630) by Kenny Louie under CC BY 2.0.

[Latest update: Feb. 2024]

Top boy-name debuts of all time in the U.S. baby name data (1-10)

lotus bud

The final installment of the top baby name debuts for boys!

10 to 1:

Unnamed, #10

  • Unnamed debuted with 101 baby boys in 1989.
    No inspiration. (Most of these “unnamed” boys were born in the state of Wisconsin, so this probably isn’t related to the New York-centered baby name glitch of 1989.)

Jahiem, #9

  • Jahiem debuted with 155 baby boys in 2001.
    Inspired by R&B singer Jaheim.

Khiry, #8

  • Khiry debuted with 159 baby boys in 1989.
    Inspired by singer Khiry Abdulsamad, a member of The Boys.

Shyheim, #7

  • Shyheim debuted with 168 baby boys in 1994.
    Inspired by rapper Shyheim.

Cordero, #6

  • Cordero debuted with 173 baby boys in 1986.
    Inspired by Cordero Roberts, a character on the soap opera One Life to Live.

Yurem, #5

  • Yurem debuted with 206 baby boys in 2007.
    Inspired by Yurem Rojas, winner of the reality TV show Buscando a Timbiriche, La Nueva Banda.

Kunta, #4

  • Kunta debuted with 215 baby boys in 1977.
    Inspired by Kunta Kinte, a character on the TV miniseries Roots.

Levar, #3

  • Levar debuted with 523 baby boys in 1977.
    Inspired by LeVar Burton, an actor in the TV miniseries Roots.

Nakia, #2

  • Nakia debuted with 611 baby boys in 1974.
    Inspired by Nakia Parker, a character on the TV movie/show Nakia.

Christop, #1

  • Christop debuted with 1,082 baby boys in 1989.
    Not inspired by anything — just part of the great baby name glitch of 1989.

And there it is! The top boy name debuts ever, so far. Did any of the names this week surprise you?

More of the top 50 baby name debuts for boys: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri

[Latest update: 7/2021]