Shaan
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "glory" or "honor".
Name Census estimates that about 2,411 living Americans carry the first name Shaan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shaan today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaan births was 2009 (113 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaan. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Shaan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Shaan is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.4K
~ 1 in 142,163 Americans
Peak year
2009
113 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,086
Tracked since 1970
Census
Shaan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,153 people with the first name Shaan, which placed it at #7,162 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,162
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,153 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
75.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shaan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.4%) and White (8.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shaan described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Shaan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander75.5% · 1,626
- Two or more races10.4% · 224
- White8.5% · 182
- Black or African American2.9% · 63
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Popularity
Shaan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaan from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 882 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Shaan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shaan by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Shaan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. California, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Shaan, while Michigan, Massachusetts, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 122 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaan
The name Shaan has its origins in the Persian language, and it is believed to have been in use since ancient times. The name is derived from the Persian word "Shāh," which means "king" or "monarch." This connection to royalty and power has given the name a strong and regal connotation throughout its history.
In ancient Persia, the name Shaan was often associated with the ruling class and the nobility. It was a popular choice among the Persian aristocracy and was frequently bestowed upon princes and other high-ranking members of the royal family. The name's roots can be traced back to the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled over much of the ancient Middle East from the 6th to 4th centuries BCE.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Shaan was Shaan Bahlol, a Persian poet and philosopher who lived during the 10th century CE. He was renowned for his contributions to Persian literature and his profound philosophical works, which explored various aspects of human existence and the nature of the universe.
In the realm of religion, the name Shaan holds significance in both Islamic and Zoroastrian traditions. In Islamic texts, the word "Shaan" is sometimes used to refer to the exalted status or majesty of God. Additionally, there have been several notable Islamic scholars and religious figures throughout history who bore the name Shaan.
Another prominent figure with the name Shaan was Shaan Bahadur, a renowned Indian warrior and military commander who lived during the 16th century. He served under the Mughal Emperor Akbar and played a crucial role in many of the empire's military campaigns, earning a reputation for his bravery and strategic acumen.
In more recent times, the name Shaan has been carried by several influential individuals across various fields. Shaan Shahid (born 1981) is a renowned Pakistani actor and producer who has starred in numerous Bollywood and Lollywood films, contributing significantly to the entertainment industry in South Asia.
Shaan Masood (born 1989) is a Pakistani cricketer who has represented the national team in all three formats of the game. He is widely regarded as one of the most talented and consistent batsmen in contemporary Pakistani cricket.
Shaan Merchant (born 1979) is an Indian-American entrepreneur and investor who co-founded the popular ride-sharing service Uber. His contributions to the tech industry and his innovative business ventures have earned him recognition as a prominent figure in the field of entrepreneurship.
Overall, the name Shaan has a rich and diverse history, spanning various cultures, religions, and periods. Its regal connotations and associations with power, bravery, and achievement have made it a popular choice for parents seeking a name with strength and significance.
People
Shaan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shaan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,411 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaan going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 142,163 US residents.
Is Shaan a common name?
We classify Shaan as "Rare". It ranks above 94.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,443 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaan most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaan was 2009, when 113 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaan is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shaan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,153 people with the name Shaan, or 0.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,162 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Shaan in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Shaan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shaan leans strongly male. 2,095 people counted with this name were male (97.4%), compared with 55 female bearers (2.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Shaan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.4%) and White (8.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Shaan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shaan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.5% (1,626 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Shaan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shaan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shaan in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Shaan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shaan in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Shaan can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Shaan?
Want to know how many people share the name Shaan? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.