Shan
An English masculine name derived from the Persian word for "prosperous".
Name Census estimates that about 2,799 living Americans carry the first name Shan. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 72.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Shan today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shan births was 1970 (105 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shan. 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 Shan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.8K
~ 1 in 122,456 Americans
Peak year
1970
105 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,704
Tracked since 1944
Census
Shan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,104 people with the first name Shan, which placed it at #3,419 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
#3,419
National first-name rank
People counted
6.1K
6,104 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
54.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 54.0%. The next largest groups are White (27.6%) and Black (11.7%). 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 Shan 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 Shan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander54.0% · 3,296
- White27.6% · 1,684
- Black or African American11.7% · 717
- Two or more races3.6% · 218
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 146
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 43
Gender
Gender distribution for Shan
Shan is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 3,088 total registrations, 2,224 (72.0%) were male and 864 (28.0%) were female.
Shan as a male name
- Ranked #9,704 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1969 (73 births)
Shan as a female name
- Ranked #18,450 in 2016
- 5 female births in 2016
- Peak: 1970 (45 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shan on both sides of the split. Of the 6,106 people counted with this name, 3,136 were male (51.4%) and 2,970 were female (48.6%).
Popularity
Shan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shan from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 779 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
Shan 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 Shan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Shan, while Kentucky, North Carolina, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shan
The name Shan has its origins in various cultures and languages across the world. It is derived from the Persian word "Shah", which means "king" or "sovereign". This name has been used in the Middle East and Central Asia for centuries.
In ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, the name Shan is also found, with a different meaning. It is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "Shanti", which means "peace" or "tranquility". This name was popular among Hindus and Buddhists in ancient India.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Shan can be traced back to ancient Persia, where it was used as a title for kings and rulers. One of the most notable historical figures with this name was Shan Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor of India, who ruled from 1628 to 1658. He was known for his architectural achievements, including the construction of the Taj Mahal.
Another famous historical figure with the name Shan was Shan Dun, a Chinese philosopher and writer who lived during the 4th century BC. He is best known for his work on the ancient Chinese text, the "Tao Te Ching".
In the realm of literature, Shan is also the name of a character in the famous Chinese novel "Journey to the West", written during the 16th century. The character, known as Shan Wukong or the Monkey King, is a central figure in the story and is celebrated for his bravery and mischievous nature.
Moving to more recent times, Shan was also the name of Shan Tung, a Chinese-American actor who appeared in several Hollywood films during the 1920s and 1930s. He was one of the first Chinese actors to achieve success in the American film industry.
Another notable figure with the name Shan was Shan Hackett, an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Bombers in the early 20th century. He was born in 1883 and played a significant role in the success of the team during his career.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Shan
People
Shan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shan 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
Shan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,799 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shan 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 122,456 US residents.
Is Shan a common name?
We classify Shan as "Rare". It ranks above 94.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,088 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shan most popular?
The single biggest year for Shan was 1970, when 105 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shan is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,104 people with the name Shan, or 2.02 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,419 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 Shan 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 Shan?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shan on both sides of the split. Of the 6,106 people counted with this name, 3,136 were male (51.4%) and 2,970 were female (48.6%). 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 Shan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 54.0%. The next largest groups are White (27.6%) and Black (11.7%). 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 Shan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.0% (3,296 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 Shan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shan a male name?
Yes, 72.0% of people registered as Shan 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 Shan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shan 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 Shan 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 are called Shan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.