Shammai
given name · Latin script
Meaning: The etymology of Shammai is uncertain
Recorded for both men and women· direction only, no split published
Shammai is a given name written in the Latin script, most frequently recorded in the United States.
- ILIsrael
- GBUnited Kingdom
- PHPhilippines
Where the name is found, darker where our sources hold more of it. No national register counts its bearers anywhere we hold data, so the map carries no figures. One hue, darker where it is more common; hover a country for its figure.
Meaning & origin(measured from records)
The etymology of Shammai is uncertain. Some scholars propose a connection to the Hebrew verb 'shamem' (שָׁמֵם), meaning 'to be desolate or appalled'. Others suggest it derives from 'shem' (שֵׁם), meaning 'name' or 'renown', possibly yielding a meaning like 'celebrated'. A third theory links it to the verb 'shama' (שָׁמַע), meaning 'to hear' or 'to listen'.
Sources 1
- Biblical Names Compiled Database
Where in the world(measured from records)
Recorded in:
No national register we accept counts this name’s bearers, so the page lists where it is found and publishes no figure.
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)
Shammai 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.
The etymology of Shammai is uncertain. One interpretation suggests it derives from the Hebrew verb 'shamem' (שמם), meaning "to be desolate" or "appalled". Another theory connects it to 'shem' (שם), meaning "name" or "renown". A third possibility links it to 'shama' (שמע), meaning "to hear".
as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database
Shammai is a biblical Hebrew name with a strong historical connection. While there are several men with this name in the Bible, the most famous is a great Jewish scholar who lived in the 1st century BCE. The name is often understood to mean "desolate" or "my name has been heard".
as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database
Shammai is a masculine biblical name of Hebrew origin. While the precise meaning is debated, it is often associated with the concepts of being heard, renown, or desolation. The name belongs to a figure in the Old Testament genealogies of the tribe of Judah.
as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database
The etymology of Shammai is uncertain, with scholars proposing derivations from Hebrew roots meaning "desolate" (shamem) or related to "name/renown" (shem). Other interpretations suggest it may mean "my name has been heard".
as a nameBiblical Names Compiled Database
As a figure in the Davidic lineage of Judah, Shammai's inclusion in the biblical genealogies, though brief, is seen as part of the broader narrative of God's covenant with Israel and the lineage leading to the Messiah. It highlights the value God places on each individual within the covenant community.
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.
Evidence(measured from records)
Attested in 3 sources across 2 countries.
| Country | Register | Year | Count | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VC St. Vincent & Grenadines | Electoral Office of St Vincent & the Grenadines — Final Voters List (Nov 2025) | 2025 | 1 | #146 |
Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does the name Shammai come from?
- The etymology of Shammai is uncertain. Some scholars propose a connection to the Hebrew verb 'shamem' (שָׁמֵם), meaning 'to be desolate or appalled'. Recorded by Biblical Names Compiled Database.
- Is Shammai a male or female name?
- Shammai is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.
- What does the name Shammai mean?
- Recorded meaning: The etymology of Shammai is uncertain.
- In which country does Shammai have the most bearers?
- Shammai is most frequently recorded in the United States.
What do you want to know about Shammai?
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/shammaiThe 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, “Shammai”. Data snapshot 2026-10-10.