Is Shadow a boy or girl name?

Shadow is a unisex name. Of the 1,104 Americans recorded with the name since 1880, 44.5% were girls and 55.5% were boys. It changed hands in 1989, and has gone mainly to boys since.

Name Legacy

Shadow

Recorded 1974–2025 · United States

Shadow was most popular in 1993, when 58 American babies were given the name — ranking #3,700 that year. In 2025 it ranked #12,329, with 15 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 1,104 people named Shadow.

Shadow over time

Births per year. The dot marks Shadow’s peak in 1993. Gaps are years the SSA suppressed, which it does for any name given to fewer than five babies.

Is Shadow a boy’s or a girl’s name?

Across the whole record Shadow is a unisex name — 44.5% of the 1,104 Americans given it were girls and 55.5% were boys. It changed hands: since 1989 it has gone mainly to boys, having gone mainly to girls before that. In births since 2016 it is 36% girls and 64% boys.

Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.

Names that peaked alongside Shadow

Explore further

See Shadow on the interactive charts

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org