Shahar
A Hebrew name meaning "Dawn" or "Crack of dawn".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Shahar. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shahar today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shahar births was 2018 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shahar. 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 Shahar. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
2018
7 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2018 SSA rank
#10,565
Tracked since 2018
Census
Shahar in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 374 people with the first name Shahar, which placed it at #25,370 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
#25,370
National first-name rank
People counted
374
374 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shahar
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shahar is White at 76.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.3%) and Black (5.1%). 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 Shahar 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 Shahar at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.2% · 285
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.3% · 46
- Black or African American5.1% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 14
- Two or more races2.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Shahar: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Shahar 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 Shahar 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 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Shahar
The name Shahar originates from the Hebrew language and has its roots in ancient Semitic cultures. It is derived from the Hebrew word "shachar," which means "dawn" or "morning." The name has been in use for centuries, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to biblical times.
In the Hebrew Bible, the word "shachar" is used to refer to the first light of day, symbolizing new beginnings and the promise of a new day. The name Shahar was often given to children as a symbol of hope and renewal, reflecting the desire for a bright and prosperous future.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shahar can be found in the Book of Job, where it is mentioned as the name of one of Job's daughters. This biblical reference suggests that the name was in use among ancient Israelites during the time of the Hebrew scriptures' composition.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shahar. One of the most prominent was Shahar Avner (1931-2012), an Israeli politician and diplomat who served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) and as the Israeli ambassador to several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom.
Another well-known figure with the name Shahar was Shahar Peled (1905-1992), an Israeli artist and sculptor. His works, which often depicted biblical and historical themes, can be found in museums and public spaces throughout Israel and beyond.
In the realm of literature, Shahar Avi-Shai (1930-2007) was a notable Israeli writer and poet. He published several collections of poetry and prose, exploring themes of identity, memory, and the human experience.
The name Shahar has also been used in various cultural and artistic contexts. For example, Shahar is the title of a 1988 novel by acclaimed Israeli author David Grossman, which explores the complexities of love, loss, and identity in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War.
Another notable figure was Shahar Tzuberi (1945-1981), an Israeli sailor and Olympic athlete who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Tragically, Tzuberi was among the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed in the Munich Massacre, a terrorist attack carried out by the Palestinian group Black September.
While the name Shahar has its origins in the ancient Hebrew language and culture, it has transcended its historical roots and has been embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures around the world.
People
Shahar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shahar 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
Shahar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shahar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shahar 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Shahar a common name?
We classify Shahar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shahar most popular?
The single biggest year for Shahar was 2018, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shahar is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shahar in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 374 people with the name Shahar, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,370 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 Shahar 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 Shahar?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shahar on both sides of the split. Of the 369 people counted with this name, 236 were male (64.0%) and 133 were female (36.0%). 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 Shahar?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shahar is White at 76.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.3%) and Black (5.1%). 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 Shahar most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shahar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.2% (285 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 Shahar in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shahar a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shahar 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 Shahar still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shahar 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 Shahar 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 Shahar?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Shahar, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.