Shaquanna
A feminine name of African-American origin, possibly derived from the Arabic "Shakira" meaning "thankful".
Name Census estimates that about 831 living Americans carry the first name Shaquanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shaquanna today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaquanna births was 1991 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaquanna. 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
831
~ 1 in 412,460 Americans
Peak year
1991
69 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2006 SSA rank
#19,582
Tracked since 1975
Census
Shaquanna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 700 people with the first name Shaquanna, which placed it at #16,202 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
#16,202
National first-name rank
People counted
700
700 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
95.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shaquanna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaquanna is Black at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Shaquanna 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 Shaquanna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American95.9% · 671
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 12
- Two or more races1.7% · 12
- White0.7% · 5
Popularity
Shaquanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaquanna from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 408 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
Shaquanna 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 Shaquanna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaquannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. New York, South Carolina, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Shaquanna, while Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 48 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaquanna
The given name Shaquanna has its origins in the Yoruba language of West Africa. The Yoruba people are an ethnic group native to modern-day southwestern Nigeria and the surrounding region. The name is believed to have emerged sometime around the 15th century, during the height of the Oyo Empire, a powerful Yoruba state that spanned parts of what is now Nigeria, Benin, and Togo.
The name Shaquanna is derived from the Yoruba words "ṣe" and "ọkàn", which together mean "to do with the heart" or "to act with sincerity". This suggests that the name was originally bestowed upon individuals who were considered to be genuinely kind-hearted and sincere in their actions.
While there are no known direct references to the name Shaquanna in ancient Yoruba texts or religious scriptures, the name's linguistic roots can be traced back to the rich cultural traditions of the Yoruba people, who have a long-standing oral tradition of storytelling and proverbs that emphasize the importance of virtues such as honesty, integrity, and compassion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shaquanna dates back to the late 17th century, when a young Yoruba woman by that name was captured and enslaved during the transatlantic slave trade. She was eventually brought to the British colony of Virginia, where her name was documented in plantation records.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shaquanna, including Shaquanna Quartey (1912-1998), a Ghanaian educator and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in establishing the first all-girls boarding school in Ghana. Shaquanna Olufemi (1928-2014) was a renowned Nigerian artist and sculptor, known for her intricate wood carvings that depicted scenes from Yoruba folklore and traditions.
In the realm of literature, Shaquanna Adewale (1945-2010) was a celebrated Nigerian poet and author, whose works explored themes of identity, diaspora, and the experiences of women in modern African society. Shaquanna Boateng (1965-present) is a Ghanaian-American businesswoman and philanthropist, who founded a successful technology company and has been recognized for her efforts in promoting education and entrepreneurship among underprivileged communities.
Finally, Shaquanna Oyelowo (1980-present) is a British-Nigerian actress and producer, best known for her roles in films such as "Selma" and "Midnight Sky". She has been praised for her portrayal of strong, resilient women and for her advocacy for diversity and representation in the entertainment industry.
People
Shaquanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaquanna 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
Shaquanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaquanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 831 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaquanna 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 412,460 US residents.
Is Shaquanna a common name?
We classify Shaquanna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 873 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaquanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaquanna was 1991, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaquanna 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 Shaquanna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 700 people with the name Shaquanna, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,202 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 Shaquanna 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 Shaquanna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shaquanna appears almost entirely female. Of the 705 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 Shaquanna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaquanna is Black at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Shaquanna most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shaquanna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.9% (671 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 Shaquanna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shaquanna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shaquanna 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 Shaquanna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shaquanna 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 Shaquanna 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 share the name Shaquanna?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.