Neshawn
An invented name possibly a blend of the English words "new" and "shawn".
Name Census estimates that about 72 living Americans carry the first name Neshawn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Neshawn today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Neshawn births was 2005 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Neshawn. 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 Neshawn with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Neshawn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
72
~ 1 in 4,760,477 Americans
Peak year
2005
10 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2017 SSA rank
#10,883
Tracked since 1974
Census
Neshawn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 155 people with the first name Neshawn, which placed it at #44,540 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
#44,540
National first-name rank
People counted
155
155 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
83.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neshawn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neshawn is Black at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.7%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Neshawn 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 Neshawn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American83.2% · 129
- Two or more races7.7% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 6
- White1.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Neshawn
Neshawn leans heavily male at 86.5% of total registrations, but 10 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Neshawn as a male name
- Ranked #13,669 in 2017
- 5 male births in 2017
- Peak: 2005 (10 births)
Neshawn as a female name
- Ranked #10,883 in 1978
- 5 female births in 1978
- Peak: 1974 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Neshawn on both sides of the split. Of the 155 people counted with this name, 107 were male (69.0%) and 48 were female (31.0%).
Popularity
Neshawn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Neshawn from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 48 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neshawn 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 Neshawn 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 Neshawn
The name Neshawn has its origins in the Gaelic language spoken in Ireland and Scotland. It is derived from the old Irish word "nesa" meaning "close" or "near", combined with the suffix "-awn" which denotes a person or place. This suggests that the name Neshawn originally referred to someone who lived close by or in a nearby area.
In ancient Irish mythology, there are references to a figure named "Neshawn the Wise", who was said to be a druid or wise man revered for his knowledge and counsel. However, the historical accuracy of this figure is unclear, as many myths and legends from that era were passed down orally before being written down centuries later.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Neshawn date back to the 9th century AD, appearing in various Irish monastic records and annals. One notable bearer of the name was Neshawn of Kildare, a monk and scribe who lived in the late 9th century and is credited with transcribing several important religious texts and chronicles.
In the 12th century, a Neshawn O'Donnell was a prominent chieftain and warrior in the northern part of Ireland. He played a key role in defending his clan's territory against invading Norman forces, and is mentioned in several contemporary accounts of the Norman conquest of Ireland.
Another noteworthy figure with the name Neshawn was Neshawn MacLeod, a 16th century Scottish poet and bard from the Isle of Skye. His collection of poems and songs, known as the "Book of Neshawn", is considered an important work in the preservation of Scottish Gaelic literature and culture.
In the 17th century, Neshawn O'Brien was an Irish soldier and mercenary who fought in the Thirty Years' War in Europe. He rose to the rank of colonel in the French army and was known for his bravery and skill in battle.
While the name Neshawn has deep historical roots in Irish and Scottish cultures, it has become relatively uncommon in modern times, particularly outside of those regions. However, it remains a unique and intriguing name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Neshawn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Neshawn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Neshawn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Neshawn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 72 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Neshawn 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 4,760,477 US residents.
Is Neshawn a common name?
We classify Neshawn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 74 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Neshawn most popular?
The single biggest year for Neshawn was 2005, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Neshawn is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Neshawn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 155 people with the name Neshawn, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,540 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 Neshawn 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 Neshawn?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Neshawn on both sides of the split. Of the 155 people counted with this name, 107 were male (69.0%) and 48 were female (31.0%). 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 Neshawn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neshawn is Black at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.7%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Neshawn most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Neshawn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.2% (129 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 Neshawn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Neshawn a male name?
Yes, 86.5% of people registered as Neshawn 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 Neshawn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Neshawn 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 Neshawn 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 share the name Neshawn?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.