Sheana
An English feminine name derived from the Hebrew name Shana meaning "brilliant, splendid".
Name Census estimates that about 588 living Americans carry the first name Sheana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sheana today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sheana births was 1985 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sheana. 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
588
~ 1 in 582,916 Americans
Peak year
1985
71 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2009 SSA rank
#15,005
Tracked since 1968
Census
Sheana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 598 people with the first name Sheana, which placed it at #18,116 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
#18,116
National first-name rank
People counted
598
598 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sheana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sheana is White at 52.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Hispanic (10.7%). 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 Sheana 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 Sheana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.2% · 312
- Black or African American26.6% · 159
- Hispanic or Latino10.7% · 64
- Two or more races6.4% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Sheana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sheana from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 370 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
Sheana 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 Sheana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sheanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Sheana, while Massachusetts, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sheana
The name Sheana has its origins in the Gaelic language, which is spoken primarily in Scotland and Ireland. It is believed to have emerged in the medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century.
Sheana is a feminine form derived from the Gaelic name Seán, which is the Irish version of the name John. The name John itself has Hebrew roots and is derived from the name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious."
The earliest recorded use of the name Sheana can be traced back to the 14th century in Ireland. It was a common name among Irish families, particularly in the regions of Munster and Connacht. The name likely gained popularity due to its association with Saint John the Evangelist, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Sheana was Sheana Ní Dhómhnaill, an Irish noblewoman who lived in the late 15th century. She was the daughter of Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill, the King of Tír Chonaill (now part of County Donegal).
In the 16th century, Sheana Ní Bhriain was a prominent Irish poet and historian. She was a member of the influential Ó Briain (O'Brien) family and is known for her poetic works that chronicled the history of her clan.
Another historical figure with the name Sheana was Sheana Ní Mhurchadha, an Irish noblewoman from County Cork who lived in the 17th century. She was a member of the powerful MacCarthy clan and played a significant role in the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s.
In the 18th century, Sheana Ní Chualáin was a renowned Irish harpist and composer. She is credited with preserving and promoting traditional Irish music during a time when it was in decline due to the effects of English colonization.
Sheana Ní Ghallchóir, who lived in the 19th century, was a notable Irish storyteller and folklore collector. She is remembered for her efforts in preserving the oral traditions and cultural heritage of Ireland, particularly in the Connemara region.
People
Sheana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sheana 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
Sheana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sheana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 588 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sheana 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 582,916 US residents.
Is Sheana a common name?
We classify Sheana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 623 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sheana most popular?
The single biggest year for Sheana was 1985, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sheana is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sheana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 598 people with the name Sheana, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,116 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 Sheana 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 Sheana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sheana appears almost entirely female. Of the 595 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Sheana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sheana is White at 52.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Hispanic (10.7%). 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 Sheana most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sheana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.2% (312 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 Sheana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sheana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sheana 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 Sheana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sheana 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 Sheana 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 Sheana?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.