Shalena
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Selena.
Name Census estimates that about 909 living Americans carry the first name Shalena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shalena today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shalena births was 1977 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shalena. 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.
People living today
909
~ 1 in 377,067 Americans
Peak year
1977
47 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2008 SSA rank
#13,616
Tracked since 1968
Census
Shalena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 814 people with the first name Shalena, which placed it at #14,472 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
#14,472
National first-name rank
People counted
814
814 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
46.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shalena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalena is Black at 46.6%. The next largest groups are White (33.4%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Shalena 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 Shalena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.6% · 379
- White33.4% · 272
- Two or more races8.1% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 19
Popularity
Shalena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shalena from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 388 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shalena 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 Shalena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shalenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Shalena, while Ohio, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shalena
The name Shalena is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The name is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "shalina," which means "virtuous" or "modest." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who were perceived as possessing these qualities.
In ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, there are references to characters with names that are similar to Shalena, such as Shalini and Shalina. However, there is no definitive evidence of the exact origin or usage of the name Shalena in these ancient texts.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Shalena can be found in the 16th century, during the Mughal Empire in India. Shalena Begum was a prominent figure in the Mughal court, known for her patronage of the arts and literature. She lived from 1530 to 1604 and was a daughter of the Mughal Emperor Humayun.
In the 19th century, Shalena Devi was a renowned Indian poet and writer who contributed significantly to the literary scene of her time. She was born in 1822 and was known for her works that explored themes of love, spirituality, and social issues.
Another notable figure with the name Shalena was Shalena Malhotra, an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who lived from 1920 to 2005. She was instrumental in promoting and preserving the rich cultural heritage of Indian classical dance forms.
In the field of sports, Shalena Warden was a Canadian sprinter who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. She won a silver medal in the 4x400 meter relay event.
Shalena Shaik, born in 1991, is a contemporary Indian model and actress who has appeared in various international fashion campaigns and television shows. She has been recognized for her work in the fashion industry and continues to be a prominent figure in the entertainment world.
It is important to note that while the name Shalena has its roots in the Indian subcontinent, it has gained popularity in various parts of the world, with individuals from different cultural backgrounds adopting this name.
People
Shalena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shalena 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
Shalena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shalena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 909 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shalena 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 377,067 US residents.
Is Shalena a common name?
We classify Shalena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 966 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shalena most popular?
The single biggest year for Shalena was 1977, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shalena is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shalena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 814 people with the name Shalena, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,472 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 Shalena 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 Shalena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shalena appears almost entirely female. Of the 816 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Shalena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalena is Black at 46.6%. The next largest groups are White (33.4%) and Two or More Races (8.1%). 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 Shalena most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shalena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.6% (379 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 Shalena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shalena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shalena in the SSA data are female. 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 Shalena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shalena 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 Shalena 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 have the name Shalena?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.