Shain
A masculine Arabic name meaning "bright" or "radiant."
Name Census estimates that about 1,182 living Americans carry the first name Shain. It is a predominantly male name (97.9% of registrations). The average person named Shain today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shain births was 1978 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shain. 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 Shain with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 289,978 Americans
Peak year
1978
41 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2022 SSA rank
#8,201
Tracked since 1963
Census
Shain in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,176 people with the first name Shain, which placed it at #11,058 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
#11,058
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,176 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shain
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shain is White at 72.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Shain 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 Shain at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.0% · 847
- Black or African American8.0% · 94
- Two or more races6.7% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 68
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 16
Gender
Gender distribution for Shain
Shain leans heavily male at 97.9% of total registrations, but 26 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shain as a male name
- Ranked #8,201 in 2022
- 10 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1985 (40 births)
Shain as a female name
- Ranked #18,332 in 2004
- 5 female births in 2004
- Peak: 1970 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shain leans strongly male. 1,054 people counted with this name were male (89.5%), compared with 123 female bearers (10.5%).
Popularity
Shain: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shain from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 302 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shain 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 Shain during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shains live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Shain, while Michigan, Illinois, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shain
The name Shain has its origins in the Hebrew language and is derived from the word "shayah," which means "gift" or "present." The name is believed to have emerged during the ancient period of Jewish history, possibly around the time of the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Shain can be found in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. In the Talmud, Shain is referenced as a name given to a child born during a time of great struggle or hardship, symbolizing the child as a gift from God.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Shain gained popularity among Jewish communities in Europe, particularly in areas such as Germany, Poland, and Russia. During this time, the name was often associated with scholarly pursuits and religious devotion.
One notable figure bearing the name Shain was Shain ben Tziyon, a 14th-century Jewish philosopher and scholar from Spain. He was known for his commentaries on the works of Maimonides and his contributions to the field of Jewish thought.
In the 16th century, Shain Cohen was a prominent Jewish merchant and financier who played a significant role in the economic development of the Ottoman Empire. His name is recorded in various historical documents related to trade and finance during that period.
Another important figure in history with the name Shain was Shain Abulafia, a 17th-century Kabbalist and Jewish mystic from Palestine. He is remembered for his writings on the Kabbalah and his influence on the development of Jewish mysticism.
In the 19th century, Shain Landau was a notable Jewish author and poet from Poland. He is best known for his works that explored themes of Jewish identity and cultural heritage.
Shain Zamir, born in 1905 in Russia, was a prominent Zionist leader and politician who played a crucial role in the establishment of the State of Israel. He served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) and held various government positions during the early years of the state.
While the name Shain has its roots in the Hebrew language and Jewish culture, it has also been adopted and used by other communities around the world. However, the historical significance and meaning of the name remain deeply rooted in its Jewish origins and the concepts of divine gift and blessing.
People
Shain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shain 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
Shain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,182 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shain 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 289,978 US residents.
Is Shain a common name?
We classify Shain as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,235 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shain most popular?
The single biggest year for Shain was 1978, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shain is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shain in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,176 people with the name Shain, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,058 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 Shain 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 Shain?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shain leans strongly male. 1,054 people counted with this name were male (89.5%), compared with 123 female bearers (10.5%). 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 Shain?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shain is White at 72.0%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Shain most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.0% (847 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 Shain in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shain a male name?
Yes, 97.9% of people registered as Shain 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 Shain still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shain 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 Shain 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 Americans are named Shain?
See how many people share the name Shain on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.