Shalimar
An Indian feminine name referring to a legendary Mughal gardens in Kashmir.
Name Census estimates that about 606 living Americans carry the first name Shalimar. It is a predominantly female name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Shalimar today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shalimar births was 2012 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shalimar. 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
606
~ 1 in 565,601 Americans
Peak year
2012
29 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1979 SSA rank
#6,917
Tracked since 1954
Census
Shalimar in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 772 people with the first name Shalimar, which placed it at #15,023 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
#15,023
National first-name rank
People counted
772
772 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
39.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shalimar
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalimar is Hispanic at 39.9%. The next largest groups are White (22.5%) and Black (19.7%). 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 Shalimar 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 Shalimar at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino39.9% · 308
- White22.5% · 174
- Black or African American19.7% · 152
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.4% · 88
- Two or more races6.2% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Shalimar
Out of the 644 babies given the name Shalimar since 1880, 99.2% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Shalimar as a male name
- Ranked #6,917 in 1979
- 5 male births in 1979
- Peak: 1979 (5 births)
Shalimar as a female name
- Ranked #18,709 in 2015
- 5 female births in 2015
- Peak: 2012 (29 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shalimar leans strongly female. 718 people counted with this name were female (92.9%), compared with 55 male bearers (7.1%).
Popularity
Shalimar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shalimar from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 182 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
Shalimar 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 Shalimar during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shalimars live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Shalimar, while Florida, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shalimar
The name Shalimar has its origins in the Persian language and culture. It is believed to be derived from the Persian words "shalī" meaning "abode" and "mār" meaning "air" or "cool breeze," resulting in the combined meaning of "abode of coolness" or "dwelling of love."
In the 17th century, the name gained prominence as the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan constructed the famous Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan, as a tribute to his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. These exquisite gardens were designed to evoke a sense of paradise on earth, with their intricate water features, lush greenery, and architectural marvels.
The name Shalimar has been mentioned in various literary works and historical accounts throughout the ages. One notable reference is in the epic poem "Lalla Rookh" by Thomas Moore, published in 1817, where the name is associated with a beautiful princess.
The earliest recorded example of the name Shalimar can be traced back to the 16th century, when it was used as a name for a Persian princess. Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne this name, including:
1. Shalimar Ali (born 1969), a Pakistani cricketer who played for the national team in the 1990s.
2. Shalimar Gardens (born 1979), an American singer and actress of mixed Native American and African American descent.
3. Shalimar Bagh (1630-1640), the name given to a famous Mughal garden in Delhi, India, commissioned by Emperor Shah Jahan.
4. Shalimar Parfum Initial (1925), a fragrance created by the French perfume house Guerlain, named after the famous Shalimar Gardens.
5. Shalimar Sharaf (born 1957), an Indian actress known for her work in Bollywood films during the 1970s and 1980s.
The name Shalimar has transcended cultural boundaries and has been adopted by various communities around the world, each imbuing it with their own unique cultural significance and interpretations.
People
Shalimar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shalimar 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
Shalimar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shalimar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 606 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shalimar 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 565,601 US residents.
Is Shalimar a common name?
We classify Shalimar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 644 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shalimar most popular?
The single biggest year for Shalimar was 2012, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shalimar is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shalimar in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 772 people with the name Shalimar, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,023 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 Shalimar 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 Shalimar?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shalimar leans strongly female. 718 people counted with this name were female (92.9%), compared with 55 male bearers (7.1%). 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 Shalimar?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalimar is Hispanic at 39.9%. The next largest groups are White (22.5%) and Black (19.7%). 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 Shalimar most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Shalimar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.9% (308 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 Shalimar in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shalimar a female name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Shalimar 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 Shalimar still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shalimar 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 Shalimar 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 Shalimar?
Find out how many people have the name Shalimar on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.