Shammah
surname · Latin script
Meaning: The derivation is uncertain; some scholars (e.g., Martin Noth) suggest it is a shortened theophoric name derived from the root 'sh-m-a' (to hear), while others associate it with the root 'sh-m-m' mean
Recorded for both men and women· direction only, no split published
/ʃəmmə/(machine-generated) pronunciation, model-generated
Shammah is a surname written in the Latin script, with more bearers in Nigeria than in any other country.
- NGNigeria≈1 in 108K(inferred from the name graph)
- SYSyria≈1 in 137K
- NLNetherlands≈1 in 1.5M
carrying the name, as counted by its national register where one exists and as Mondonomo estimates it elsewhere (marked ≈ and "est." on hover). One hue, darker where it is more common; hover a country for its figure.
- Nigeria (inferred from the name graph)
- Sources
- 102 (measured from records)
- ≈1 in 108K (inferred from the name graph)
≈2,000 people, est.
Highest-authority source
Nigeria, est.
measured from records inferred from the name graph
Meaning & origin(measured from records)
The derivation is uncertain; some scholars (e.g., Martin Noth) suggest it is a shortened theophoric name derived from the root 'sh-m-a' (to hear), while others associate it with the root 'sh-m-m' meaning 'desolation' or 'astonishment'.
Sources 1
- Biblical Names Compiled Database
Attested across 3 languages in the etymology graph.
Where in the world(measured from records)
Shammah counted together with the spellings and other-language forms grouped with it. Where a register counted another spelling, the row names it.
Sorted by bearers: national registers' counts, and Mondonomo's estimates (≈, est.) where no register counts.
| Country | Most common spelling | Sources | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NG Nigeria | ≈2,000 est. | ≈1 in 108K | — | Shammah | 30 |
| SY Syria | ≈140 est. | ≈1 in 137K | — | Shammah | 4 |
| US United States | 109 | 1 in 3.1M | 137 | Shammah | 102 |
| PH Philippines | ≈51 est. | ≈1 in 2.1M | — | Shammah | 19 |
| AR Argentina | 28 | 1 in 1.6M | 28 | — | 2 |
| NL Netherlands | ≈12 est. | ≈1 in 1.5M | 6 | Shammah | 3 |
Exact figures are national registers' own counts, while figures marked ≈ and est. are Mondonomo’s estimates, counted from our sources and calibrated against those registers; hover one for how far to trust it in that country. A dash means neither exists.
Registers cited: Census Bureau — Surname Frequency 2010; Census Bureau — Surname Frequency 2020; RENAPER — Apellidos (person counts, national); Meertens NVB — Nederlandse Voornamenbank (live per-name BRP counts, 1790-2017). Figures without a register are Mondonomo estimates; see Methodology.
Country figures for a list of names, at full precision, are available under licence rather than by scraping this table (how that works).
Other recorded senses(measured from records)
Shammah is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.
Shammah: 'Desolation', 'Astonishment', or 'The Lord is there'; Shagee: 'Wandering' or 'Erring'.
as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database
Shammah is often viewed as a model of spiritual steadfastness and courage, illustrating the importance of standing one's ground against overwhelming odds and being faithful in defending even small things (like a lentil field) entrusted to one's care.
as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database
As a descendant of Esau, Shammah represents part of the Edomite lineage, which is historically and theologically contrasted with the lineage of Jacob (Israel) in the Hebrew Bible.
as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database
Often cited as an example of solitary courage, steadfastness, and the ability of God to grant victory through a single faithful individual.
as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database
Desolation, astonishment, or appalment
as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database
Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.
Notable people with this name(measured from records)
- Andrée Ruth Shammahb. 1948ITItalian theatre director
The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).
How to address them(machine-generated)
Evidence(measured from records)
Attested in 24 sources across 14 countries.
| Country | Register | Year | Count | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US United States | Census Bureau — First Name Frequency 2020 by sex | 2020 | 134 | #35,980 |
| US United States | Census Bureau — First Name Frequency 2020 by sex | 2020 | 88 | #35,980 |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 2024 | 8 | — |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 2017 | 8 | — |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 2025 | 7 | — |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 2022 | 7 | — |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 2021 | 7 | — |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 2020 | 7 | — |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 2017 | 7 | — |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 2002 | 7 | — |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 2000 | 7 | — |
| US United States | SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) | 1978 | 7 | — |
Reference works 1
- Wikidata name items (native-script + romanized given/family names)
These works list the name; their figures are licensed and are not reproduced here.
Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the name Shammah mean, and where does it come from?
- The derivation is uncertain; some scholars (e.g., Martin Noth) suggest it is a shortened theophoric name derived from the root 'sh-m-a' (to hear), while others associate it with the root 'sh-m-m' mean… Recorded by Biblical Names Compiled Database.
- How do you pronounce Shammah?
- A machine transcription gives /ʃəmmə/ (IPA) for English.
- In which country does Shammah have the most bearers?
- Mondonomo estimates about 2.0 thousand people named Shammah in Nigeria, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled shammah.
- How common is the name Shammah?
- In the United States, the national register counted 109 people named Shammah in 2010, about 1 in 3.1 million residents.
What do you want to know about Shammah?
Nobody replies to these one by one, but what readers ask decides what these pages answer next.
Query this name via API
curl -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" https://api.mondonomo.ai/api/v1/name-graph/shammahThe payload this page is built from: spellings and scripts, countries and languages, related names, and the registers that attest the form. It takes a free API key (1,000 requests a day), which returns what this page shows everyone; the full country table, every register citation and the year-by-year series come with a licensed key, as does bulk access.
About this data
measured from records inferred from the name graph machine-generated
These figures come from the data snapshot of and will change as it is rebuilt.
Statistics are aggregated from the Mondonomo name corpus; related names and etymology are inferred from the name graph; pronunciation and any machine-marked transliterations are model-generated. Read how the numbers are made, including their known failure modes, and where the data comes from.
Reference works we consult — surname dictionaries, official name registers, Wikidata and Wiktionary — are named directly, beside the claims they support. The per-country source counts also include datasets of person records: we publish how many there are and their authority tier, but not their names.
Cite this page Mondonomo, “Shammah”. Data snapshot 2026-10-10.