Shey
Shey is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Leh tehsil, 15 km from Leh towards Hemis. Shey was founded as the summer capital of Ladakh, by the king Lhachen Palgyigon in the 10th century, with Leh being winter capital. It was gradually eclipsed by Leh around the 17th century after the growth of Central Asian trade.
Meaning & Origin of Shey
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Shey is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Leh tehsil, 15 km from Leh towards Hemis. Shey was founded as the summer capital of Ladakh, by the king Lhachen Palgyigon in the 10th century, with Leh being winter capital. It was gradually eclipsed by Leh around the 17th century after the growth of Central Asian trade.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Origin & history
The Story of Shey
As a girl name
Shey first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 1971, with 8 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1995: 12 births, good for #7,041 nationwide. About 40% of every Shey on record arrived during the 1990s, its defining decade. Shey last appeared in the published SSA data in 2006, with 6 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 135 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
The earliest SSA record of Shey as a boy name dates back to 1975, when 5 babies received it. 1991 was its biggest year on record, with 14 newborns named Shey — #4,006 in the national rankings. About 34% of every Shey on record arrived during the 1990s, its defining decade. Shey last appeared in the published SSA data in 2021, with 7 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 146 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Shey
Phonetically similar names — useful when Shey is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Shey
What does the name Shey mean?
How popular is Shey in 2026?
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About the name Shey
Shey is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1975 and has accumulated 146 births in the dataset. Shey's peak popularity came in 1991 when it ranked #4,006. Use the chart and map above to compare Shey's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1991 →
- Names of the 1990s →
- Names starting with "S" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.