Popularity of "S" vs. "Sh" Names - Girls

Image by chrisinplymouth via Flickr

When people ask me what letter I would use if I had to name 10 children with the same letter, my answer is S. But I also clarify that it is S and not Sh! To me, since they are different sounds they are different "letters" with which to begin a name. As my mind ran with this thought, I wondered how have the two sounds differed in terms of popularity?

To do this research, I used the S and Sh names with percentage of use above 0.01% since 1938*. This cutoff was chosen because the Top 1000 in 2012 include names with a percentage higher than 0.0131% for girls and 0.0098% for boys. Because the S and Sh sounds are not exclusive to the letters S and Sh, I also added the names that begin with the letters C and Ch that have the S and Sh sounds. This can be subjective as some of the names can be pronounced with either the S/Sh sound or the hard C/Ch sound, but I went with what I thought would be the mostly likely sound heard. As usual, this research is time intensive, so I will do the girls this week and the boys next week.

I can't say this graph is surprising. We do not hear as many Sh-sound names currently save Charlotte.

It's fascinating that even though there are less Sh/Ch names (120) than S/C names (153) included in these numbers, the Sh/Ch names are pretty equal to the S/C names in the late 1930s and remain relatively high through the 1960s, undoubtedly due to the popularity of Shirley, Sharon, and Cheryl. Other highly popular Sh/Ch names since 1938 are Shannon, Shelby, Sheila, Sherry and Charlotte, all with percentages of 0.3% and higher at some point. To give perspective on that percentage, the girl names ranked #32 and higher in 2012 had percentages of use higher than 0.3%.

The S/C names reached their peak in the 1950s with the popularity of Susan, Sandra and Cynthia. Other highly popular S/C names since 1938 are Sarah, Stephanie, Samantha, Sophia, Cindy, Sara, Sydney, Stacy, Sofia, Stacey, Sally, Suzanne, Sylvia, Savannah, Sabrina and Sierra (again, all with percentages of 0.3% and higher at some point).

If you are curious as to the names included in this study, here is a list. These names could have appeared in just one year or remained fairly popular throughout the years.

S & C

Cecelia	Cyndi	Sandi	Selene	Sonya	Sunny
Cecile	Cynthia	Sandra	Selina	Sophia	Sunshine
Cecilia	Saanvi	Sandy	Serena	Sophie	Suri
Cecily	Sabrina	Saniya	Serenity	Soraya	Susan
Celena	Sade	Saniyah	Serina	Spring	Susana
Celeste	Sadie	Santana	Sidney	Stacey	Susanna
Celestine	Sage	Sara	Siena	Staci	Susanne
Celia	Sahara	Sarah	Sienna	Stacia	Susie
Celina	Saige	Sarahi	Sierra	Stacie	Sutton
Celine	Salena	Sarai	Silvia	Stacy	Suzan
Ciara	Salina	Sariah	Simone	Star	Suzanna
Ciarra	Sallie	Sarina	Sky	Starla	Suzanne
Cicely	Sally	Sariyah	Skye	Starr	Suzette
Cielo	Salma	Sasha	Skyla	Stefani	Suzy
Ciera	Samantha	Saundra	Skylar	Stefanie	Sybil
Cierra	Samara	Savana	Skyler	Stella	Syble
Ciji	Samaria	Savanah	Sloan	Stephaine	Sydnee
Cinda	Samatha	Savanna	Sloane	Stephani	Sydney
Cindi	Samaya	Savannah	Sofia	Stephanie	Sydni
Cindy	Samira	Sawyer	Sofie	Stephany	Sydnie
Cinnamon	Samiya	Saylor	Somaya	Stephenie	Sylvia
Cinthia	Samiyah	Scarlet	Sommer	Stevie	Symone
Citlali	Sammie	Scarlett	Sondra	Stormy	Syreeta
Citlalli	Samya	Scarlette	Sonia	Sue
Citlaly	Sanaa	Selah	Sonja	Suellen
Cydney	Sanai	Selena	Sonji	Summer

Sh & Ch

Chanel	Cheyenne	Shanika	Sharla	Sheena	Sherrie
Chanelle	Shae	Shaniqua	Sharlene	Sheila	Sherrill
Chantal	Shaila	Shanita	Sharon	Shelba	Sherry
Chante	Shaina	Shaniya	Sharonda	Shelbi	Sherryl
Chantel	Shakira	Shaniyah	Sharron	Shelbie	Sheryl
Chantelle	Shalon	Shanna	Sharyn	Shelby	Sheyla
Charisse	Shalonda	Shannan	Shasta	Shelia	Shianne
Charla	Shameka	Shannen	Shauna	Shelley	Shiela
Charleen	Shamika	Shannon	Shaunna	Shelli	Shiloh
Charlene	Shana	Shanon	Shavon	Shellie	Shirl
Charlize	Shanae	Shanta	Shavonne	Shelly	Shirlee
Charlotte	Shanda	Shante	Shawanda	Shelva	Shirlene
Charmaine	Shane	Shantel	Shawn	Shena	Shirley
Cher	Shanell	Shantell	Shawna	Sheree	Shonda
Cheri	Shanelle	Shaquana	Shawnee	Sheri	Shonna
Cherie	Shanequa	Shara	Shawnte	Sheridan	Shreya
Cherrelle	Shani	Shardae	Shayla	Sherie	Shyann
Cheryl	Shania	Sharde	Shaylee	Sherita	Shyanne
Cheryle	Shanice	Sharen	Shayna	Sherlyn	Shyla
Cheyanne	Shaniece	Shari	Shea	Sherri	Siobhan

What a great list of names! It's also interesting to see the various spellings of popular names.

Do you prefer S or Sh names for girls? Do you consider them different as I do?



*I calculated the percentage of use for each name using the raw number of births for the year and dividing it by the total number of corresponding (boy or girl) births for the year. The Social Security Administration has only provided the total number of births for each year since 1938.