Given name
Shemaiah
“Yah has heard”·“heard of Yah”
Shemaiah is a feminine given name. It is used in Cebuano.
Original Hebrewשמעיה
Meaning & origin
What it means
As a biblical name, Shemaiah means “Yah has heard” or “heard of Yah.”
From biblical name research
Where it comes from
Shemaiah 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 1979. 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 Shemaiah appears in 2 Chronicles 12:15, 2 Chronicles 12:5-7, 1 Kings 12:22 and 7 other passages.
- 2 Chronicles 12:15
- 2 Chronicles 12:5-7
- 1 Kings 12:22
- 2 Chronicles 11:2
- Nehemiah 3:29
- 1 Chronicles 24:6
- Ezra 8:16
- Jeremiah 36:12
- Nehemiah 12:34
- Nehemiah 12:42
From biblical name research
Shemaiah through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 281
- 12 boys · 269 girls
- Most popular year
- 2002
- 21 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #16,909 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 16,909 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 333 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Shemaiah’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 Shemaiah, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Delaiah
“door of Yah” · “Yah has delivered”
>99% girls
Eleasah
“God has made”
>99% girls
Bariah
“fugitive”
>99% girls
Aridai
“freely” · “my freedom”
>99% girls
Vaniah
“but perhaps weak or Yah is praise”
>99% girls
Reaiah
“vision of Yah”
>99% girls
Abihail
“the father is might” · “father of strength”
>99% girls
Jaazaniah
“Yah harkens”
20% boys · 80% girls