Shuo
A Chinese name meaning to speak, expound, or explain.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Shuo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shuo today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shuo births was 2017 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shuo. 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 Shuo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2017
5 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2017 SSA rank
#13,947
Tracked since 2017
Census
Shuo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,119 people with the first name Shuo, which placed it at #11,445 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
#11,445
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,119 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shuo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shuo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.9%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Black (1.1%). 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 Shuo 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 Shuo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.9% · 1,073
- White2.6% · 29
- Black or African American1.1% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 3
- Two or more races0.2% · 2
Popularity
Shuo: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Shuo 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 Shuo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Shuo
The given name Shuo has its origins in the Chinese language and culture. It is a masculine name that dates back to ancient times, potentially as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC). The name is derived from the Chinese word 'shuo', which translates to 'speak' or 'persuade'.
In ancient Chinese philosophy and literature, the ability to speak eloquently and persuasively was highly valued. As such, the name Shuo may have been bestowed upon individuals who possessed oratorical skills or were known for their persuasive abilities. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been inspired by the influential Chinese philosopher and teacher Confucius, who emphasized the importance of effective communication and moral reasoning.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shuo can be found in the historical text "Records of the Grand Historian" by Sima Qian, which chronicles the lives of prominent figures in ancient China. The text mentions a man named Shuo Xing, who lived during the Warring States period (475–221 BC) and was renowned for his skills in mathematics and astronomy.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shuo. One of the most famous was Shuo Ouyang (557–641 AD), a renowned calligrapher and scholar during the Tang Dynasty. His works were highly influential and contributed significantly to the development of Chinese calligraphy.
Another prominent figure was Shuo Zhang (675–730 AD), a celebrated poet and statesman of the Tang Dynasty. His poetry was known for its elegance and profound insights into human nature. Zhang's literary works were widely studied and admired by scholars and intellectuals of his time.
In more recent history, Shuo Li (1880–1942) was a prominent Chinese educator and philosopher. He was instrumental in establishing modern education systems in China and advocated for the integration of Western and Chinese philosophies in education.
Another notable individual was Shuo Huang (1915–2008), a renowned physicist and academic. Huang made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics and served as the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences from 1978 to 1981.
Lastly, Shuo Wang (born 1952) is a respected Chinese-American architect and urban planner. He is known for his innovative designs that blend traditional Chinese elements with modern architectural principles, and his work has been widely recognized and acclaimed both in China and internationally.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Shuo, a name that has its roots in ancient Chinese culture and has been associated with eloquence, wisdom, and intellectual pursuits.
People
Shuo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shuo 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
Shuo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shuo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shuo 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Shuo a common name?
We classify Shuo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shuo most popular?
The single biggest year for Shuo was 2017, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shuo is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shuo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,119 people with the name Shuo, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,445 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 Shuo 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 Shuo?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shuo on both sides of the split. Of the 1,120 people counted with this name, 727 were male (64.9%) and 393 were female (35.1%). 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 Shuo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shuo is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.9%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Black (1.1%). 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 Shuo most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shuo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.9% (1,073 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 Shuo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shuo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shuo 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 Shuo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shuo 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 Shuo 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 Shuo?
See how many people share the name Shuo on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.