Given name & surname
Shema
“sound; report”·“rumor”·“hearing”
Shema is used as a given name and a surname.
Original Hebrewשמע
Meaning & origin
What it means
As a biblical name, Shema means “sound; report,” “rumor” or “hearing.”
From biblical name research
Where it comes from
Shema is a biblical name from Hebrew.
From biblical name research
How it developed
From the Hebrew verb shama' (שמע), “to hear.”
From biblical name research
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1975. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Shema appears in Joshua 15:26, 1 Chronicles 2:43.
- Joshua 15:26
- 1 Chronicles 2:43
From biblical name research
Shema through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 55
- 20 boys · 35 girls
- Most popular year
- 1975
- 8 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 267 as a first name in 2020; 367 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Shema’s family of names
See also 14
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
Similar names
If you love Shema, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Dedan
“leading gently”
>99% boys
Eran
“one who has been awakened”
>99% boys
Gjon
Gjon is a masculine given name from Latin, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Albanian.
>99% boys
Rosh
“head” · “chief”
>99% boys
Jeconiah
“Yah establishes” · “the Lord will establish”
>99% boys
Neco
“striker” · “smiter”
>99% boys
Bartholomew
“son of Talmai” · “the son of the farmer”
>99% boys
Jeremy
“one who is exalted by the Lord” · “appointed by God”
>99% boys