Shedrick
An English masculine name derived from an Old English surname meaning "bright valley".
Name Census estimates that about 2,083 living Americans carry the first name Shedrick. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shedrick today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shedrick births was 1973 (84 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shedrick. 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
2.1K
~ 1 in 164,548 Americans
Peak year
1973
84 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,863
Tracked since 1886
Census
Shedrick in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,477 people with the first name Shedrick, which placed it at #9,405 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
#9,405
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,477 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shedrick
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shedrick is Black at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and White (2.7%). 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 Shedrick 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 Shedrick at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.5% · 1,351
- Two or more races3.6% · 53
- White2.7% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 4
Popularity
Shedrick: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shedrick from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 643 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
Shedrick 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 Shedrick during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shedricks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Louisiana, Georgia, Florida recorded the most babies named Shedrick, while Tennessee, Michigan, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 84 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shedrick
The name Shedrick is a unique and intriguing moniker that has its roots in the distant past. Its origins can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon era, where it emerged as a variation of the Old English name Scedric or Sceatric. These names were derived from the Germanic elements "sceadu," meaning "shade" or "shadow," and "ric," signifying "power" or "ruler."
During the medieval period, the name Shedrick gained popularity among the nobility and gentry of England. It was often associated with individuals of noble birth and those who held positions of authority or influence. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 11th century, where it can be found in various historical records and manuscripts from that era.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Shedrick was Shedrick de Guildford, a prominent English nobleman who lived in the 12th century. He was a trusted advisor to King Henry II and played a significant role in the governance of the realm during that turbulent period of English history.
In the realm of literature, the name Shedrick made an appearance in Geoffrey Chaucer's celebrated work, "The Canterbury Tales." One of the characters, a wealthy merchant, was referred to as Shedrick the Rich, a nod to the name's association with affluence and status.
As time progressed, the name Shedrick retained its regal undertones and was adopted by several notable individuals throughout history. Shedrick Willoughby, born in 1545, was a renowned English explorer who embarked on several voyages to the New World, contributing to the expansion of British influence in the Americas.
In the 18th century, Shedrick Beaumont, a celebrated architect, left an indelible mark on the architectural landscape of England. His masterpiece, the Beaumont Manor, is a testament to his skill and artistic vision, and it continues to be admired to this day.
Another prominent figure who carried the name Shedrick was Shedrick Whitworth, born in 1789. He was a pioneering engineer and inventor, known for his groundbreaking contributions to the field of mechanical engineering, including the development of precision measuring tools that revolutionized manufacturing processes.
While the name Shedrick may not be as common today as it once was, it still holds a rich historical legacy and a sense of distinction. Its origins, rooted in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, and its association with nobility and achievement throughout the ages, make it a name that carries a certain weight and gravitas.
People
Shedrick + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shedrick 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
Shedrick: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shedrick?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,083 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shedrick 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 164,548 US residents.
Is Shedrick a common name?
We classify Shedrick as "Rare". It ranks above 93.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,675 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shedrick most popular?
The single biggest year for Shedrick was 1973, when 84 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shedrick 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 Shedrick in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,477 people with the name Shedrick, or 0.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,405 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 Shedrick 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 Shedrick?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shedrick appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,482 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Shedrick?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shedrick is Black at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and White (2.7%). 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 Shedrick most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shedrick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (1,351 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 Shedrick in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shedrick a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shedrick 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 Shedrick still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shedrick 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 Shedrick 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 the name Shedrick?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Shedrick at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.