Rashunda
A feminine name of an unknown origin with no clear meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 326 living Americans carry the first name Rashunda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rashunda today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rashunda births was 1987 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rashunda. 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
326
~ 1 in 1,051,394 Americans
Peak year
1987
30 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1996 SSA rank
#13,067
Tracked since 1970
Census
Rashunda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 278 people with the first name Rashunda, which placed it at #31,017 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
#31,017
National first-name rank
People counted
278
278 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
99.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rashunda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rashunda is Black at 99.3%. The next largest groups are White (0.4%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Rashunda 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 Rashunda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American99.3% · 276
- White0.4% · 1
- Two or more races0.4% · 1
Popularity
Rashunda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rashunda from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 182 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Rashunda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rashunda 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 Rashunda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rashundas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama recorded the most babies named Rashunda, while Texas, Florida, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rashunda
Rashunda is a feminine given name with its roots traced back to the ancient African kingdom of Kush, located in present-day Sudan. The name is believed to have originated from the Nubian language, where it was derived from the words "ra" meaning "sun" and "shunda" meaning "radiant" or "brilliant." This suggests that Rashunda may have been a name given to individuals who were perceived as possessing a radiant or brilliant presence, perhaps likened to the sun's warmth and light.
The earliest known references to the name Rashunda can be found in hieroglyphic inscriptions and ancient papyrus scrolls dating back to the 25th Dynasty of Kush, which ruled over parts of ancient Egypt between 760 and 656 BCE. These historical records indicate that Rashunda was a name held by several noble women and priestesses within the Kushite royal court during this time period.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Rashunda was Kandake Rashunda, a powerful queen who ruled over the Kushite Kingdom in the late 7th century BCE. She was renowned for her military prowess and her efforts to preserve the cultural traditions of her people in the face of foreign invasion.
Another significant figure named Rashunda was a revered high priestess who served in the Temple of Amun in the ancient city of Napata, the capital of Kush, during the 6th century BCE. Historical accounts describe her as a wise and influential spiritual leader who played a pivotal role in the religious ceremonies and rituals of her time.
In the 4th century BCE, a Kushite woman named Rashunda gained recognition as a skilled scribe and scholar. Her name is mentioned in several ancient texts as the author of several philosophical treatises and historical narratives, although few of her original works have survived to modern times.
During the medieval period, the name Rashunda was also found in various Arabic and Islamic texts, where it was sometimes used as a variant spelling of the name Rashida, meaning "rightly guided" or "righteous." One notable figure from this era was Rashunda al-Andalusia, a renowned poet and scholar who lived in Cordoba, Spain, in the 11th century CE.
Throughout history, the name Rashunda has been borne by numerous other individuals, including warriors, artists, and community leaders, though their specific stories and accomplishments have largely been lost to time. Despite its ancient origins, the name Rashunda continues to be used in various parts of the world today, carrying with it a rich cultural heritage and a connection to the radiant and brilliant legacy of its earliest bearers.
People
Rashunda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rashunda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rashunda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rashunda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 326 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rashunda 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 1,051,394 US residents.
Is Rashunda a common name?
We classify Rashunda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 349 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rashunda most popular?
The single biggest year for Rashunda was 1987, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rashunda is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rashunda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 278 people with the name Rashunda, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,017 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 Rashunda 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 Rashunda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rashunda appears almost entirely female. Of the 283 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Rashunda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rashunda is Black at 99.3%. The next largest groups are White (0.4%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Rashunda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Rashunda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.3% (276 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 Rashunda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rashunda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rashunda 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 Rashunda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rashunda 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 Rashunda 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 the name Rashunda?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.