Lashunda
A feminine name of uncertain origin, potentially a combination of La and Shonda.
Name Census estimates that about 2,090 living Americans carry the first name Lashunda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lashunda today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lashunda births was 1977 (148 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lashunda. 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 163,997 Americans
Peak year
1977
148 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2009 SSA rank
#18,928
Tracked since 1965
Census
Lashunda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,777 people with the first name Lashunda, which placed it at #8,204 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
#8,204
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,777 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
96.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lashunda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lashunda is Black at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Two or More Races (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 Lashunda 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 Lashunda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.6% · 1,716
- White1.4% · 24
- Two or more races1.1% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 1
Popularity
Lashunda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lashunda from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 1,111 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
Lashunda 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 Lashunda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lashundas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Texas, Mississippi, Alabama recorded the most babies named Lashunda, while Ohio, Missouri, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 113 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lashunda
The name Lashunda has its origins in the African-American community, emerging as a unique combination of elements from various languages and cultures. It is believed to have been derived from the blending of the French word "la" meaning "the" and the English word "shunda," which itself may have roots in African languages like Yoruba or Twi.
One theory suggests that the name Lashunda may have been inspired by the historical figure LaShonda Barnett, a prominent African-American author and activist from the early 20th century. Barnett's literary works often celebrated the strength and resilience of African-American women, and her name could have been a source of inspiration for the creation of the name Lashunda.
Another possibility is that the name Lashunda traces its origins to the Yoruba language of West Africa, where the word "shun" means "to praise" or "to honor." In this context, Lashunda could be interpreted as "the one who is praised" or "the honored one," reflecting the cultural significance and respect attached to the name.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Lashunda can be found in historical records from the mid-20th century, particularly in southern states like Mississippi and Alabama. Notable individuals who bore the name Lashunda include:
1. Lashunda Flowers (1968 - ), an American basketball player who competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal in the latter.
2. Lashunda Scales (1977 - ), an American sprinter and hurdler who represented the United States at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
3. Lashunda Benton (1980 - ), an American professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for teams like the Detroit Shock and the Los Angeles Sparks.
4. Lashunda Garrett (1981 - ), an American gospel singer and songwriter known for her powerful vocals and inspirational lyrics.
5. Lashunda Thornton (1985 - ), an American entrepreneur and fashion designer who founded the successful clothing line "Lashunda's Closet" in the early 2000s.
While the name Lashunda may have originated within the African-American community, its unique blend of linguistic elements and cultural influences has given it a distinctive and enduring presence throughout history.
People
Lashunda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lashunda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lashunda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lashunda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,090 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lashunda 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 163,997 US residents.
Is Lashunda a common name?
We classify Lashunda 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, 2,270 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lashunda most popular?
The single biggest year for Lashunda was 1977, when 148 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lashunda is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lashunda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,777 people with the name Lashunda, or 0.59 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,204 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 Lashunda 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 Lashunda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lashunda appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,775 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Lashunda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lashunda is Black at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Two or More Races (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 Lashunda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lashunda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (1,716 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 Lashunda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lashunda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lashunda 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 Lashunda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lashunda 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 Lashunda 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 Lashunda as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.