Shahidah
An Arabic feminine name meaning "one who bears witness or testifies".
Name Census estimates that about 212 living Americans carry the first name Shahidah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shahidah today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shahidah births was 1978 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shahidah. 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
212
~ 1 in 1,616,766 Americans
Peak year
1978
31 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2005 SSA rank
#18,695
Tracked since 1976
Census
Shahidah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 293 people with the first name Shahidah, which placed it at #29,959 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
#29,959
National first-name rank
People counted
293
293 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
80.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shahidah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shahidah is Black at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Shahidah 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 Shahidah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American80.2% · 235
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.3% · 33
- Two or more races4.8% · 14
- White2.4% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 4
Popularity
Shahidah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shahidah from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 105 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shahidah 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 Shahidah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shahidahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shahidah
The name Shahidah is a feminine name of Arabic origin, derived from the word "shahid," which means "witness" or "martyr" in Arabic. The name can be traced back to the early days of Islam, as it is often associated with the concept of martyrdom and bearing witness to one's faith.
The earliest recorded use of the name Shahidah can be found in ancient Arabic texts and historical records, particularly those related to the life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions. One notable example is Shahidah bint Abi Ubaydah, a woman who lived during the 7th century and was known for her piety and devotion to Islam.
Throughout history, the name Shahidah has been borne by several notable figures, including Shahidah Salim Al-Jarrah, a 15th-century Arab poet and scholar from Damascus, renowned for her contributions to the literary and intellectual circles of her time. Another prominent figure was Shahidah bint Al-Husayn, a 9th-century Muslim princess and scholar from Baghdad, who was highly respected for her knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and her patronage of the arts and sciences.
In the realm of religious scholarship, one cannot overlook the legacy of Shahidah al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli, a renowned 13th-century Shia scholar and jurist from present-day Iran. Her works on Islamic law and theology were widely influential and continue to be studied and referenced to this day.
Moving to more modern times, Shahidah Salim Boothen (1917-2001) was a prominent Somali writer, activist, and politician who played a significant role in the Somali independence movement and the promotion of women's rights in her country. Her literary works and advocacy efforts have left a lasting impact on Somali society and culture.
Another notable figure was Shahidah Ismail (1924-2005), a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician who dedicated her life to the struggle against racial segregation and the pursuit of equality and justice. Her unwavering commitment to non-violence and her tireless efforts in the African National Congress have earned her a place in the annals of South African history.
These are but a few examples of the many notable individuals who have borne the name Shahidah throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural and intellectual heritage associated with this name.
People
Shahidah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shahidah 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
Shahidah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shahidah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 212 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shahidah 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 1,616,766 US residents.
Is Shahidah a common name?
We classify Shahidah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 227 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shahidah most popular?
The single biggest year for Shahidah was 1978, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shahidah 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 Shahidah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 293 people with the name Shahidah, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,959 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 Shahidah 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 Shahidah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shahidah leans strongly female. 294 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Shahidah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shahidah is Black at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Shahidah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shahidah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (235 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 Shahidah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shahidah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shahidah 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 Shahidah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shahidah 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 Shahidah 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 Shahidah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.