Shenandoah
A Native American name meaning "daughter of the stars".
Name Census estimates that about 431 living Americans carry the first name Shenandoah. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 75.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Shenandoah today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shenandoah births was 1975 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shenandoah. 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
431
~ 1 in 795,254 Americans
Peak year
1975
23 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1993 SSA rank
#9,943
Tracked since 1965
Census
Shenandoah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 472 people with the first name Shenandoah, which placed it at #21,491 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
#21,491
National first-name rank
People counted
472
472 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shenandoah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shenandoah is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.1%) and Hispanic (8.1%). 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 Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.8% · 320
- Two or more races9.1% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 38
- Black or African American7.6% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.7% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 13
Gender
Gender distribution for Shenandoah
Shenandoah is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 459 total registrations, 112 (24.4%) were male and 347 (75.6%) were female.
Shenandoah as a male name
- Ranked #9,943 in 1993
- 5 male births in 1993
- Peak: 1965 (15 births)
Shenandoah as a female name
- Ranked #17,268 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1995 (18 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shenandoah on both sides of the split. Of the 470 people counted with this name, 118 were male (25.1%) and 352 were female (74.9%).
Popularity
Shenandoah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shenandoah from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 161 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
Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shenandoahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shenandoah
The name Shenandoah has its origins in the Native American languages of the Eastern Woodlands cultural region. It is believed to be derived from the Oneida word "on'ta-tó:ke," meaning "large river." The name specifically refers to the Shenandoah River, a tributary of the Potomac River that flows through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and West Virginia.
The earliest recorded use of the name Shenandoah can be traced back to the late 17th century, when it was mentioned in colonial records and maps. It is thought that the name was adopted by European settlers from the indigenous tribes who inhabited the Shenandoah Valley region. The name became popularized through its association with the picturesque valley, which was renowned for its natural beauty and fertile lands.
In terms of historical references, the name Shenandoah has been immortalized in various literary works and songs. Perhaps the most famous is the 19th-century American folk song "Oh Shenandoah," which celebrates the beauty of the Shenandoah River and Valley. The song has been recorded by numerous artists and has become a beloved part of American folk music tradition.
While the name Shenandoah is primarily associated with the geographical location, there have been a few notable individuals throughout history who bore this name. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Shenandoah, a chief of the Oneida Nation who lived in the late 18th century and was known for his diplomatic efforts in establishing peaceful relations between Native American tribes and European settlers.
Another historically significant figure was Shenandoah Cornstalk, a renowned Shawnee leader who lived in the mid-18th century. He was known for his oratory skills and his efforts to maintain peace with European settlers, but was ultimately killed in a tragic incident during the American Revolutionary War.
In more recent times, Shenandoah was the stage name of Douglas Hoskins (1937-1996), a renowned Native American musician and activist. He was a member of the Oneida Nation and was influential in promoting Native American culture and music through his performances and advocacy work.
Another notable individual was Shenandoah Albu (1923-2009), a prolific writer and poet of Cherokee and Mohawk descent. Her works focused on celebrating Native American culture and traditions, and she was recognized with numerous awards and honors for her contributions to literature.
Lastly, Shenandoah Terwilliger (1941-2007) was an American artist and sculptor known for her works that explored themes of Native American identity and spirituality. Her sculptures and installations were featured in numerous exhibitions and public spaces throughout the United States.
People
Shenandoah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shenandoah 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
Shenandoah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shenandoah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 431 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shenandoah 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 795,254 US residents.
Is Shenandoah a common name?
We classify Shenandoah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 459 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shenandoah most popular?
The single biggest year for Shenandoah was 1975, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 472 people with the name Shenandoah, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,491 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 Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shenandoah on both sides of the split. Of the 470 people counted with this name, 118 were male (25.1%) and 352 were female (74.9%). 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 Shenandoah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shenandoah is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.1%) and Hispanic (8.1%). 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 Shenandoah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shenandoah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.8% (320 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 Shenandoah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shenandoah a female name?
Yes, 75.6% of people registered as Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah 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 are named Shenandoah?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Shenandoah, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.