Shawnda
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of Chanda.
Name Census estimates that about 2,304 living Americans carry the first name Shawnda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shawnda today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shawnda births was 1975 (154 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shawnda. 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
2.3K
~ 1 in 148,765 Americans
Peak year
1975
154 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2008 SSA rank
#20,025
Tracked since 1957
Census
Shawnda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,140 people with the first name Shawnda, which placed it at #7,206 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
#7,206
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,140 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shawnda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shawnda is White at 61.9%. The next largest groups are Black (28.6%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Shawnda 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 Shawnda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.9% · 1,325
- Black or African American28.6% · 612
- Two or more races5.5% · 117
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 3
Popularity
Shawnda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shawnda from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 1,231 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shawnda 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 Shawnda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shawndas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. Ohio, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Shawnda, while Washington, Virginia, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shawnda
The name Shawnda is believed to have originated from the Irish Gaelic name Síomha, which means "silk" or "silky." It is a feminine variant of the masculine name Síomhón. The name likely emerged during the Middle Ages in Ireland, a time when the use of Gaelic names was widespread across the Emerald Isle.
In its early iterations, the name Shawnda was often spelled as Síomhadha or Síomhádha in Irish Gaelic. As the name made its way into English-speaking regions, it underwent various spelling adaptations, eventually evolving into the modern form of Shawnda.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shawnda can be traced back to the 16th century, when it appeared in historical records from County Galway, Ireland. During this time period, the name was primarily associated with families of Irish nobility and gentry.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shawnda. One of the earliest was Shawnda Ní Cheallaigh, a 17th-century Irish noblewoman and landowner from County Clare. Another prominent figure was Shawnda O'Reilly, a celebrated Irish poet and bard who lived in the late 18th century.
In the 19th century, Shawnda Byrne, an Irish immigrant to the United States, gained recognition for her involvement in the women's suffrage movement and advocacy for workers' rights. During the same era, Shawnda MacNeill, a Scottish-born activist, played a pivotal role in the campaign for Irish independence from British rule.
One of the most famous bearers of the name Shawnda was Shawnda O'Connor, an Irish singer-songwriter and musician who rose to prominence in the late 20th century. Born in 1966, O'Connor achieved international acclaim for her powerful vocals and thought-provoking lyrics, earning numerous awards and accolades throughout her career.
While the name Shawnda has its roots in Irish culture, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries. Its unique sound and historical significance have made it a distinctive choice for parents seeking a name with a rich heritage and cultural significance.
People
Shawnda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shawnda 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
Shawnda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shawnda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,304 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shawnda 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 148,765 US residents.
Is Shawnda a common name?
We classify Shawnda as "Rare". It ranks above 94.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,538 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shawnda most popular?
The single biggest year for Shawnda was 1975, when 154 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shawnda is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shawnda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,140 people with the name Shawnda, or 0.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,206 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 Shawnda 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 Shawnda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shawnda appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,140 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 Shawnda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shawnda is White at 61.9%. The next largest groups are Black (28.6%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Shawnda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shawnda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.9% (1,325 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 Shawnda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shawnda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shawnda 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 Shawnda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shawnda 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 Shawnda 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 Shawnda?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.