Shenan
An Irish given name meaning "old path" or "ancient way".
Name Census estimates that about 46 living Americans carry the first name Shenan. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 51.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Shenan today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shenan births was 1966 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shenan. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shenan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
46
~ 1 in 7,451,181 Americans
Peak year
1966
8 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1974 SSA rank
#5,890
Tracked since 1965
Census
Shenan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 129 people with the first name Shenan, which placed it at #48,862 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
#48,862
National first-name rank
People counted
129
129 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shenan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shenan is White at 69.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.1%). 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 Shenan 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 Shenan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.0% · 89
- Black or African American14.0% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.1% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 5
- Two or more races2.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Shenan
Shenan is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 52 total registrations, 25 (48.1%) were male and 27 (51.9%) were female.
Shenan as a male name
- Ranked #5,890 in 1974
- 5 male births in 1974
- Peak: 1966 (8 births)
Shenan as a female name
- Ranked #11,650 in 1979
- 5 female births in 1979
- Peak: 1971 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shenan on both sides of the split. Of the 138 people counted with this name, 52 were male (37.7%) and 86 were female (62.3%).
Popularity
Shenan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shenan from the 1960s through to the 1970s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 32 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shenan 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 Shenan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shenan
The given name Shenan is an ancient Irish name with its origins dating back to the 5th century AD. The name is derived from the Gaelic word "sionnach," which means "fox." In Irish folklore, the fox was revered for its cunning and intelligence, and the name was bestowed upon individuals believed to possess these qualities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shenan can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The text mentions a notable figure named Shenan mac Geirr, who was a prominent scholar and abbot of the monastery of Clonard in the 6th century AD.
During the 8th century, the name gained further significance with the rise of Shenan of Inishcaltra, a renowned Irish monk and scribe. He was renowned for his calligraphic skills and is credited with the production of several illuminated manuscripts, including the renowned Book of Durrow.
In the 11th century, the name Shenan was associated with Shenan mac Aedha, a powerful Irish chieftain who ruled over the territory of Síl Anmchadha in what is now County Galway. He was known for his military prowess and played a significant role in the ongoing conflicts between Irish clans and the Norman invaders.
Another notable figure bearing the name Shenan was Shenan mac Colmáin, a 12th-century Irish bishop and scholar. He was celebrated for his extensive knowledge of canon law and served as the Bishop of Armagh, one of the most influential ecclesiastical positions in medieval Ireland.
In the 16th century, Shenan O'Mulryan, a prominent Irish bard and poet, gained recognition for his works that celebrated Irish culture and language. His compositions were widely recited and helped preserve the oral tradition of Irish storytelling during a period of significant cultural upheaval.
These are just a few examples of the historical figures who bore the name Shenan, a name deeply rooted in Irish heritage and associated with qualities such as wisdom, intelligence, and leadership. While its popularity may have waned in more recent times, the name remains a testament to the rich cultural tapestry of Ireland and its ancient traditions.
People
Shenan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shenan 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
Shenan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shenan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 46 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shenan 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 7,451,181 US residents.
Is Shenan a common name?
We classify Shenan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 52 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shenan most popular?
The single biggest year for Shenan was 1966, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shenan is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shenan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 129 people with the name Shenan, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,862 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 Shenan 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 Shenan?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shenan on both sides of the split. Of the 138 people counted with this name, 52 were male (37.7%) and 86 were female (62.3%). 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 Shenan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shenan is White at 69.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.1%). 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 Shenan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shenan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.0% (89 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 Shenan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shenan a female name?
Yes, 51.9% of people registered as Shenan 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 Shenan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shenan 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 Shenan 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 Shenan?
See how many Americans are named Shenan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.