Shang
An ancient Chinese name meaning lofty or superior.
Name Census estimates that about 23 living Americans carry the first name Shang. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shang today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shang births was 1973 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shang. 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 Shang with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shang. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
23
~ 1 in 14,902,363 Americans
Peak year
1973
7 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1994 SSA rank
#10,013
Tracked since 1973
Census
Shang in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 713 people with the first name Shang, which placed it at #15,968 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
#15,968
National first-name rank
People counted
713
713 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
86.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shang
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shang is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Black (3.9%). 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 Shang 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 Shang at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander86.3% · 615
- White7.0% · 50
- Black or African American3.9% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 13
- Two or more races0.6% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 3
Popularity
Shang: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shang from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Shang remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shang 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 Shang during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shang
The given name Shang has its roots in ancient Chinese culture, dating back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), one of the earliest dynasties in Chinese history. The name is believed to be derived from the Chinese word "shàng," which means "high" or "elevated," reflecting the status and power associated with the ruling class during that era.
The Shang Dynasty was known for its advanced bronze-casting techniques, the development of writing, and the practice of divination using Oracle bones. The name Shang was likely used by members of the royal family or nobility during this period, as names often held symbolic meanings and conveyed prestige.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shang can be found in the ancient Chinese text "Shu Jing" or "Book of Documents," which dates back to the 6th century BC. This text mentions various individuals with the name Shang, suggesting its widespread use among the elite during the Shang Dynasty and subsequent eras.
Throughout Chinese history, several notable figures have borne the name Shang. One such individual was Shang Yang (390–338 BC), a renowned legalist philosopher and statesman during the Warring States period. He is credited with implementing significant reforms in the State of Qin, which ultimately contributed to the unification of China under the Qin Dynasty.
Another prominent figure was Shang Qingzhi (1638–1701), a Chinese mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of mathematics and calendrical studies. He is particularly known for his work on the calculation of the solar eclipse and his improvements to the Chinese calendar system.
In the realm of literature, Shang Ting (1740–1805) was a celebrated Chinese poet and calligrapher during the Qing Dynasty. His literary works, particularly his poetry, were widely acclaimed and influenced the literary landscape of his time.
The name Shang also appears in ancient Buddhist texts and scriptures. One notable example is Shang Moheyan, a Buddhist monk and scholar who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD). He is renowned for his translations of Buddhist texts from Sanskrit into Chinese, contributing to the dissemination of Buddhism in China.
While the name Shang may have lost some of its prominence in more recent centuries, it remains a part of Chinese cultural heritage, carrying the legacy of the ancient Shang Dynasty and the individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
People
Shang + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shang 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
Shang: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shang?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 23 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shang 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 14,902,363 US residents.
Is Shang a common name?
We classify Shang as "Very Rare". It ranks above 42.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shang most popular?
The single biggest year for Shang was 1973, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shang is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shang in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 713 people with the name Shang, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,968 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 Shang 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 Shang?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shang on both sides of the split. Of the 712 people counted with this name, 489 were male (68.7%) and 223 were female (31.3%). 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 Shang?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shang is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Black (3.9%). 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 Shang most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shang in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (615 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 Shang in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shang a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shang 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 Shang still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shang 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 Shang 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 Shang?
You can see how many Americans are named Shang on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.