Shomari
Of Arabic origin meaning "watchful" or "guardian".
Name Census estimates that about 1,152 living Americans carry the first name Shomari. It is a predominantly male name (94.0% of registrations). The average person named Shomari today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shomari births was 1992 (99 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shomari. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Shomari with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 297,530 Americans
Peak year
1992
99 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,716
Tracked since 1973
Census
Shomari in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 950 people with the first name Shomari, which placed it at #12,897 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
#12,897
National first-name rank
People counted
950
950 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shomari
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shomari is Black at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Shomari 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 Shomari at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.0% · 855
- Two or more races4.4% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 36
- White1.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Shomari
Shomari leans heavily male at 94.0% of total registrations, but 71 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shomari as a male name
- Ranked #10,716 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (55 births)
Shomari as a female name
- Ranked #15,071 in 2001
- 6 female births in 2001
- Peak: 1992 (44 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shomari leans strongly male. 869 people counted with this name were male (90.8%), compared with 88 female bearers (9.2%).
Popularity
Shomari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shomari from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 424 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shomari 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 Shomari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shomaris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. New York, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Shomari, while North Carolina, Texas, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shomari
The name Shomari is of Swahili origin, a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups in East Africa, particularly in Kenya and Tanzania. The name is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "shams," meaning "sun," and the Bantu suffix "-ari," which could signify "owner" or "guardian." Thus, Shomari can be interpreted as "guardian of the sun" or "owner of the sun."
In Swahili culture, names often carry significant meaning and symbolism, reflecting the values and beliefs of the community. The name Shomari might have been bestowed upon individuals with a connection to the sun or light, either literally or metaphorically, representing qualities such as warmth, life, and guidance.
Historical records of the name Shomari are relatively scarce, as written documentation in many African cultures was limited until more recent times. However, the name's roots in the Swahili language suggest that it has been in use for centuries, potentially dating back to the early interactions between Arabic traders and the coastal Bantu communities in East Africa.
One of the earliest known recorded instances of the name Shomari can be found in the 19th century. Shomari Mbilinje was a prominent Swahili trader and explorer from Zanzibar, born around 1830. He is known for his travels and expeditions across East Africa, including his collaboration with British explorer Richard Burton in the exploration of the Great Lakes region.
Another notable individual with the name Shomari is Shomari Watt, an American actor born in 1955. Watt is best known for his role as Lt. Daniels in the 1997 film "G.I. Jane" and has appeared in various other television shows and movies throughout his career.
In the realm of sports, Shomari Williams, an American professional basketball player born in 1991, has made a name for himself. Williams has played for several teams in the NBA G League and internationally.
Shomari Legghette, an American singer and songwriter born in 1975, is also notable. He was a member of the R&B group All-4-One and has contributed to various musical projects throughout his career.
Finally, Shomari Raphael, an American artist and illustrator born in 1982, has gained recognition for his vibrant and expressive artwork, which often explores themes of identity, culture, and social issues.
While the name Shomari may not be as common as some other names, it carries a rich cultural heritage and has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions throughout history.
People
Shomari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shomari 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
Shomari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shomari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,152 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shomari 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 297,530 US residents.
Is Shomari a common name?
We classify Shomari as "Rare". It ranks above 91% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,192 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shomari most popular?
The single biggest year for Shomari was 1992, when 99 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shomari is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shomari in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 950 people with the name Shomari, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,897 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 Shomari 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 Shomari?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shomari leans strongly male. 869 people counted with this name were male (90.8%), compared with 88 female bearers (9.2%). 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 Shomari?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shomari is Black at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Shomari most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shomari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (855 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 Shomari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shomari a male name?
Yes, 94.0% of people registered as Shomari 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 Shomari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shomari 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 Shomari 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 common is the name Shomari?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Shomari on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.