Shiloh reached its all-time peak in 2024 at rank 336, with a total American count of 8,183 reflecting a Hebrew place-name that has climbed steadily from rare to mainstream over the past two decades. This is a name with a layered profile, drawing on biblical geography, Civil War history, and a high-profile celebrity birth that helped accelerate its modern American climb across the 2010s and 2020s.
The place of peace
Shiloh comes from Hebrew Shiloh, a place-name in the ancient Israelite territory traditionally interpreted as "tranquil" or "place of peace," with some scholarly readings connecting it to a phrase meaning "he whose it is" in Genesis 49:10, often read as a messianic prophecy. The biblical Shiloh was the early sanctuary site where the Tabernacle stood for centuries before the Temple was built in Jerusalem, making it one of the most important religious sites of pre-monarchical Israel. The American Civil War battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862), one of the bloodiest of the war with over 23,000 casualties, added a sober historical layer to the name's American resonance and gave it a particular weight in Southern family naming.
The modern first-name climb was sharply accelerated by the 2006 birth of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, daughter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, which brought broad media attention to the name. The boys' use has continued steadily even as girls' use rose more sharply, with the name holding its gender-flexible profile throughout the modern climb.
The biblical-place cohort
Shiloh sits inside the small cluster of biblical-place boys' names that have climbed through the 2000s and 2010s: Zion, Jordan, Eden, and Bethel share the broader trajectory. The cohort shares the place-as-name aesthetic and the warm Hebrew register. Shiloh reads as the most explicitly peaceful and contemplative member of the group, with the "place of peace" reading giving it a meditative weight the others lack.
The counter-reading
The honest concern with Shiloh is the gender-neutral usage, with the girls' chart carrying more bearers; some families embrace this as flexibility and others find it complicates the gender register for a boys' choice. The Jolie-Pitt celebrity association is also dominant enough that some families weigh it as a reference. Browse Hebrew names for the broader cluster. Sibling pairings tend toward biblical or pastoral: Shiloh and Wren, Shiloh and Eden, Shiloh and Reuben. Middle names work well shorter: Shiloh James, Shiloh Cole, Shiloh Reed.