Shadawn
A creative feminine name potentially connected to the word "shadow".
Name Census estimates that about 98 living Americans carry the first name Shadawn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shadawn today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shadawn births was 1990 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shadawn. 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 Shadawn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
98
~ 1 in 3,497,493 Americans
Peak year
1990
13 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1993 SSA rank
#13,122
Tracked since 1974
Census
Shadawn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 136 people with the first name Shadawn, which placed it at #47,733 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
#47,733
National first-name rank
People counted
136
136 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
80.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shadawn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shadawn is Black at 80.9%. The next largest groups are White (14.0%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Shadawn 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 Shadawn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American80.9% · 110
- White14.0% · 19
- Two or more races3.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 2
Popularity
Shadawn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shadawn 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 54 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Shadawn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shadawn 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 Shadawn 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 Shadawn
The name Shadawn is a relatively modern invention, likely originating in the late 20th century. It does not have a clear linguistic or cultural origin, as it appears to be a unique combination of sounds and letters that were creatively assembled to form a distinctive name.
While the name Shadawn lacks an ancient history or direct ties to specific languages or cultures, its structure and components may have been influenced by various sources. The "Sha" prefix could be inspired by names of Arabic or Persian origin, while the "dawn" element could be a nod to the English word referring to the first appearance of light in the morning.
Since Shadawn is a relatively new name, there are no recorded historical references to it in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records. However, as it gained popularity in recent decades, several notable individuals have borne this name.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Shadawn is Shadawn Battle, an American professional basketball player born in 1982. She played in the WNBA for teams like the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Sparks.
Shadawn McDaniel, born in 1984, is an American singer and songwriter known for her work in the R&B and gospel genres. She has released several albums and has been nominated for various awards.
Shadawn Cunningham, born in 1988, is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400-meter hurdles. She has represented the United States in international competitions and won medals at various championships.
Shadawn Burley, born in 1989, is an American professional basketball player who has played in the WNBA and overseas leagues. She has been a member of teams like the San Antonio Stars and the Las Vegas Aces.
Shadawn Moody, born in 1992, is an American model and actress. She has appeared in several television shows and films, including roles in "Stranger Things" and "The Chi."
While the name Shadawn is relatively new and lacks a deep historical lineage, it has gained popularity in recent decades, with several notable individuals bearing this distinctive name across various fields and professions.
People
Shadawn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shadawn 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
Shadawn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shadawn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 98 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shadawn 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 3,497,493 US residents.
Is Shadawn a common name?
We classify Shadawn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 104 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shadawn most popular?
The single biggest year for Shadawn was 1990, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shadawn is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shadawn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 136 people with the name Shadawn, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,733 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 Shadawn 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 Shadawn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shadawn leans strongly female. 130 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Shadawn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shadawn is Black at 80.9%. The next largest groups are White (14.0%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Shadawn most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shadawn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (110 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 Shadawn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shadawn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shadawn 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 Shadawn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shadawn 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 Shadawn 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 are called Shadawn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.