Shanice
A feminine name of African origin meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 9,248 living Americans carry the first name Shanice. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shanice today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shanice births was 1992 (1,859 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shanice. 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 Shanice with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
9.2K
~ 1 in 37,063 Americans
Peak year
1992
1,859 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
1988 SSA rank
#8,310
Tracked since 1968
Census
Shanice in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,377 people with the first name Shanice, which placed it at #2,780 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
#2,780
National first-name rank
People counted
8.4K
8,377 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shanice
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shanice is Black at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Shanice 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 Shanice at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.0% · 6,872
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 660
- Two or more races5.0% · 419
- White2.8% · 232
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 110
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 84
Gender
Gender distribution for Shanice
Out of the 9,584 babies given the name Shanice since 1880, 99.9% 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.
Shanice as a male name
- Ranked #8,310 in 1988
- 5 male births in 1988
- Peak: 1988 (5 births)
Shanice as a female name
- Ranked #13,218 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (1,859 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shanice appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,381 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Shanice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shanice from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 6,155 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shanice 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 Shanice during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shanices live
The SSA's state-level files cover 41 states and territories. New York, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Shanice, while Utah, West Virginia, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 200 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shanice
The name Shanice has its origins in the French language, likely emerging during the late Middle Ages or Renaissance period. It is a feminine name derived from the French word "chanter," which means "to sing." The name may have initially been used as a descriptive surname or nickname for women with exceptional singing voices or those associated with the musical arts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shanice can be found in historical documents from the 16th century in France. However, it remained relatively uncommon until more recent times. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name appeared sporadically in French records, often associated with families of artistic or musical backgrounds.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Shanice. One of the earliest was Shanice de Montpellier, a French singer and composer who lived in the late 16th century. Her compositions were performed at the court of King Henry IV of France.
Another notable figure was Shanice Duval, a French opera singer who gained prominence in the early 19th century. She performed in various opera houses across Europe and was renowned for her powerful and expressive soprano voice.
In the 20th century, the name Shanice gained popularity in the United States, particularly among African American communities. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Shanice Wilson, an American R&B singer and songwriter born in 1973. She achieved success with her debut album "Discovery" in 1987 and had several hit singles, including "I Love Your Smile" and "Silent Prayer."
Another notable Shanice was Shanice Van Buren, an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist in track and field. Born in 1978, she won gold in the 4x400 meter relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Shanice Jonkers, a Dutch actress and model born in 1985, has also gained recognition for her roles in various films and television shows, both in the Netherlands and internationally.
While the name Shanice has its roots in France, it has since been embraced and popularized in various cultures and communities around the world. Its connection to music and artistic expression has endured throughout its history, making it a distinctive and melodious choice for parents.
People
Shanice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shanice 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
Shanice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shanice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,248 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shanice 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 37,063 US residents.
Is Shanice a common name?
We classify Shanice as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,584 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shanice most popular?
The single biggest year for Shanice was 1992, when 1,859 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shanice is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shanice in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,377 people with the name Shanice, or 2.77 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,780 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 Shanice 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 Shanice?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shanice appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,381 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Shanice?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shanice is Black at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Shanice most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shanice in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (6,872 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 Shanice in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shanice a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Shanice 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 Shanice still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shanice 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 Shanice 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 Shanice?
Want to know how many people share the name Shanice? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.