UK girl's name
Shireen
An Arabic feminine name meaning "sweet", "beautiful", or "delight".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2023. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Shireen is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Shireen popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2023 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4709, with 4 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1998, with 16 births.
This profile covers 151 England and Wales registrations across 24 recorded years from 1996 to 2023. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 25% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 156 living people in the UK are called Shireen. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2024 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Shireen ranked #4709 for girls in England and Wales in 2023, with 4 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1998, when 16 girls were registered as Shireen.
- • Shireen ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #615 in 1990.
- • About 156 living people in the UK are estimated to have Shireen as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4709
2023
Births in 2023
4
Latest year
Peak year
1998
16 births
Estimated living
156
2026
Meaning
What does Shireen mean?
The name Shireen has its origins in the Persian language, where it means "sweet" or "sugary." It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 7th or 8th century CE, in the region of modern-day Iran and surrounding areas. The name may be derived from the Persian word "shirin," which means "sweet" or "sugar."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shireen can be found in the epic Persian poem "Khosrow and Shirin" by the 12th-century poet Nizami Ganjavi. The poem tells the story of the love between the Sassanid king Khosrow II and a beautiful Armenian princess named Shirin.
In the 9th century, there was a notable figure named Shireen Khatun, who was the daughter of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mu'tazz and the wife of the Samanid ruler Ismail ibn Ahmad. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support for poets and scholars during her time.
During the 13th century, there was a princess named Shireen Banu Begum, who was the daughter of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Iltutmish. She was renowned for her beauty and her prowess in archery.
In more recent history, one of the most famous individuals with the name Shireen was Shireen Amir Begum, who lived from 1828 to 1905. She was an Indian princess and a skilled poet who wrote in Urdu and Persian languages.
Another notable figure was Shireen Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist who was born in 1947. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her efforts in promoting democracy and human rights, particularly the rights of women and children in Iran.
While the name Shireen has its roots in the Persian culture, it has gained popularity across various regions and cultures over time, transcending its linguistic and geographic boundaries.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Shireen over time
The chart below shows babies named Shireen registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2023. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Shireen, the clearest high point is 1998. The latest England and Wales figure is 4 births in 2023, compared with 16 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shireen by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Shireen was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #4709 | 4 | 1 |
| 2010s | #4553 | 42 | 9 |
| 2000s | #3026 | 64 | 10 |
| 1990s | #1818 | 41 | 4 |
Geography
Where Shireen is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Shireen. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Shireen ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #615 in 1990.
Across the UK
Shireen in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#615 in 1990
2 years of NRS records, 6 total registered
Related
Names similar to Shireen
- Sophie 103,803
- Sophia 46,936
- Scarlett 34,261
- Sienna 32,418
- Sofia 29,136
- Sarah 27,961
- Shannon 25,510
- Summer 24,167
- Sara 14,205
- Skye 13,654
- Samantha 12,697
- Stephanie 9,309
FAQ
Shireen: questions and answers
How popular is the name Shireen in the UK right now?
In 2023, Shireen was ranked #4709 for girls in England and Wales, with 4 births registered.
When was Shireen most popular?
The peak year on record was 1998, with 16 babies registered as Shireen in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Shireen?
An Arabic feminine name meaning "sweet", "beautiful", or "delight".
How many people are called Shireen in the UK?
A total of 151 babies have been registered as Shireen across the 24 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 6 more in Scotland.
Where is Shireen most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Shireen ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #615 in 1990. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.