Shashank
Derived from Sanskrit, a masculine name meaning "Lord of the moon".
Name Census estimates that about 332 living Americans carry the first name Shashank. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shashank today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shashank births was 2003 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shashank. 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 Shashank with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
332
~ 1 in 1,032,393 Americans
Peak year
2003
36 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2019 SSA rank
#8,760
Tracked since 1993
Census
Shashank in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,716 people with the first name Shashank, which placed it at #8,452 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
#8,452
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,716 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
96.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shashank
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shashank is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.0%. The next largest groups are White (2.4%) and Black (0.5%). 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 Shashank 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 Shashank at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.0% · 1,647
- White2.4% · 41
- Black or African American0.5% · 9
- Two or more races0.5% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Shashank: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shashank from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 210 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Shashank remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shashank 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 Shashank during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shashanks live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shashank
The name Shashank has its origins in the Sanskrit language, one of the ancient and classical languages of the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "shasha," which means "hare" or "rabbit," and the word "anka," meaning "mark" or "sign." Shashank can be interpreted to mean "one who bears the mark of a hare" or "one who has a hare-like quality."
In ancient Hindu mythology and literature, the name Shashank is associated with the moon. The moon is often depicted as having a hare-like figure on its surface, and this connection is reflected in the name. The earliest recorded instances of the name Shashank can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit texts and scriptures, where it was used as a name for characters or deities related to the moon.
One of the earliest historical figures known to have borne the name Shashank was Shashank, the founder of the Shashank dynasty, which ruled parts of present-day Bihar and Bengal in India between the 7th and 9th centuries CE. He is credited with establishing a powerful kingdom and patronizing the arts and literature during his reign.
Another notable individual with the name Shashank was Shashank Vatsyayan, a renowned Indian musicologist and scholar who lived from 1911 to 1989. He made significant contributions to the study and preservation of Indian classical music, particularly the Kathak dance form, and authored several books on the subject.
In the field of literature, Shashank Manohar, a contemporary Indian author and poet, has gained recognition for his works in Hindi and English. His poetry collections and novels explore themes of identity, social issues, and the human condition.
Shashank Ghosh is a famous Indian film director and screenwriter, known for his critically acclaimed movies like "Ahaa Re" (2008) and "Khoobsurat" (2014). His films often delve into complex societal issues with a blend of humor and poignancy.
Shashank Arora is an Indian actor who has made a name for himself in both films and television. He gained widespread recognition for his portrayal of the lead character in the critically acclaimed movie "Titli" (2015), which won several awards at international film festivals.
The name Shashank continues to be a popular choice for baby names in various parts of India, particularly in regions with strong cultural ties to Sanskrit and Hindu traditions. Its unique meaning and historical significance have contributed to its enduring appeal.
People
Shashank + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shashank 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
Shashank: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shashank?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 332 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shashank 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 1,032,393 US residents.
Is Shashank a common name?
We classify Shashank as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 336 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shashank most popular?
The single biggest year for Shashank was 2003, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shashank is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shashank in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,716 people with the name Shashank, or 0.57 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,452 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 Shashank 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 Shashank?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shashank appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,717 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Shashank?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shashank is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.0%. The next largest groups are White (2.4%) and Black (0.5%). 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 Shashank most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shashank in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.0% (1,647 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 Shashank in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shashank a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shashank 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 Shashank still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shashank 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 Shashank 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 have Shashank as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Shashank on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.