Shanica
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from "Shani" meaning "red" or "brilliant".
Name Census estimates that about 384 living Americans carry the first name Shanica. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shanica today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shanica births was 1985 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shanica. 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
384
~ 1 in 892,589 Americans
Peak year
1985
30 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1997 SSA rank
#15,715
Tracked since 1973
Census
Shanica in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 373 people with the first name Shanica, which placed it at #25,428 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
#25,428
National first-name rank
People counted
373
373 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shanica
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shanica is Black at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and White (4.0%). 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 Shanica 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 Shanica at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.5% · 319
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 18
- White4.0% · 15
- Two or more races4.0% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 6
Popularity
Shanica: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shanica from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 195 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Shanica remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shanica 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 Shanica during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shanicas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Georgia, Illinois, Maryland recorded the most babies named Shanica, while Maryland, Illinois, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shanica
The name Shanica is a feminine given name of uncertain origin, with various theories about its roots and meaning. One possibility is that it derives from the Sanskrit word "shani," meaning "planet Saturn," which was considered an auspicious celestial body in ancient Hindu astrology. This connection to Hindu traditions and beliefs suggests that the name may have originated in the Indian subcontinent.
Another theory traces the name to the Arabic word "shani," which means "beautiful" or "lovely." If this is the case, the name could have originated in the Middle East or North Africa, where Arabic is widely spoken. Alternatively, some linguists believe that Shanica may be a variant or diminutive form of the name "Shana," which has roots in various languages, including Hebrew and Irish.
Historically, there are limited records of the name Shanica itself, but some individuals who may have borne this name or variations of it include Shani, a Hindu goddess associated with the planet Saturn, and Shani Wallis, a British novelist born in 1933 who wrote several romantic fiction novels. Additionally, Shanica Singh, an Indian actress known for her work in Bollywood films, was born in 1982.
Another notable figure with a similar name is Shawnee Smith, an American actress born in 1970, best known for her roles in the Saw film series and the television show Becker. While her name is spelled differently, the phonetic similarity to Shanica is worth mentioning.
It's also worth noting that in more recent times, the name Shanica has gained popularity, particularly in certain regions and cultures. However, due to the lack of comprehensive historical records, tracing its widespread use and any famous bearers throughout history beyond the few examples provided remains challenging.
People
Shanica + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shanica 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
Shanica: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shanica?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 384 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shanica 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 892,589 US residents.
Is Shanica a common name?
We classify Shanica as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 409 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shanica most popular?
The single biggest year for Shanica was 1985, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shanica is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shanica in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 373 people with the name Shanica, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,428 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 Shanica 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 Shanica?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shanica appears almost entirely female. Of the 370 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Shanica?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shanica is Black at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and White (4.0%). 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 Shanica most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shanica in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (319 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 Shanica in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shanica a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shanica 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 Shanica still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shanica 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 Shanica 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 Shanica?
Find out how many people have the name Shanica on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.