Shi

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Shi

Pronounced SHEE /ˈʃiː/Low

Meaning: Shi is a romanized Chinese given name whose meaning depends entirely on the written character; a common choice is shi meaning poem or poetry, though many other characters share the sound. In pinyin it is written Shi, without tone marks here.Low

In 30 seconds: Shi is a Chinese girl's name romanized from characters such as shi, poem. It appears among Chinese American families (said SHEE).

💕 Browse more names

Origin MediumChinese

MeaningShi is a romanized Chinese given name whose meaning depends entirely on the written character; a common choice is shi meaning poem or poetry, though many other characters share the sound. In pinyin it is written Shi, without tone marks here.

U.S. rank (2022)#15044 ↗ Rising

2022 U.S. births6 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year2001

Total births (all-time)≈ 332

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Shi is a pinyin romanization of a Chinese given name; its sense rests on the underlying character, one popular option being shi, poem or poetry. Written without tones, the plain spelling covers several possibilities.

It was never common in the United States, given to only about twenty girls a year at most, appearing around the early two-thousands with Chinese American families. A Shi from then would be a young adult today.

Did you know? Shi can stand for many different Chinese characters that share the sound, so two people named Shi may carry quite different meanings, from poem to history.

Overall data confidence 50%

References - Shi — Pinyin romanization of a Chinese given name; character-dependent meaning, e.g. shi (poem)

Variations

ShihShyi

Nicknames

Shi

Famous Bearers

Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Shi…

Mei— a like romanized Chinese girl's name

Lian— shares the Chinese heritage and sound

Xia— another single-syllable Chinese name

Jia— a similar pinyin girl's name

Explore names like Shi

By themerare heritage chinese

All themes →All meanings →All origins →

Frequently Asked

What does the name Shi mean?

It is a romanized Chinese name whose meaning depends on the character; one common choice, shi, means poem.

How do you pronounce Shi?

It is said SHEE /ˈʃiː/, a single syllable.

Is Shi a boy or girl name?

Shi is used here as a girl's name.

How popular is Shi?

It has always been rare in the United States, given to only about twenty girls a year around the early two-thousands, mainly within Chinese American families.