Shade

Spellings & scripts●(measured from records)

Locally spelled Shadé in NL Netherlands, ZA South Africa.

Meaning & origin●(measured from records)

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Other names spelled this way◐(inferred from the name graph)

Shade is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Turkish surname8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Syria, Türkiye, Tunisia

  Languages: Turkish, Arabic, Azerbaijani

  Also written Şhade, Shãdë, 'Shade

• Spanish given name15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Panama, United States, Argentina, Brazil

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Shadé, Shade', Shadê, Şhådé, Shadè

• a separate name5 spellings in the group

  Also written Shadé, Śhâďě, Şhade

• French given name7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France

  Also written Shadé, Shãdē, Shadë, Shâdé, Shadè

• Hindi name6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India

  Also written Shaďe, Shádê, Shadé, Şhade

• a separate name2 spellings in the group

  Also written Shadé

• a separate name3 spellings in the group

  Also written Şhade

50 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●(measured from records)

Shade is also recorded in 3 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, ndendeli

  as a word·Vocabulary of the Mende Language

• In Portuguese, shade (subtle insults)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

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)

• William August Shadeb. 1848USAmerican portrait and genre painter of the Düsseldorf School (1848-1890)
• Dave Shadeb. 1902USAmerican boxer (1902–1983)
• Ellen Shadeb. 1944USAmerican singer (1944-)
• Nancy Shadeb. 1949USAmerican opera singer
• Sam Shadeb. 1973USAmerican football player
• Kyra Shadeb. 1973DEGerman pornographic actress
• Eunice Shadeb. 1980NINicaraguan writer
• Shade Prattb. 1993USAmerican soccer player
• Jordan Shadeb. 2000ZASouth African actor
• Ashlynn Shadeb. 2004USAmerican basketball player (born 2004)

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).

Evidence●(measured from records)

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Shade mean, and where does it come from?

from OE sceadu/ME shade, shadwe ‘shadow’, perhaps a nickname for a very thin man; first attested Lucas Shadue 1203 Cur (C). Recorded by A Dictionary of English Surnames.

In which country does Shade have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 1.6 thousand people named Shade, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled shade.

Where is Shade most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Shade is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 188 thousand people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is the name Shade?

In the United States, the national register counted 1,570 people named Shade in 2020, about 1 in 212 thousand residents.