Shahnawaz
Person of noble or princely attitude, of Arabic origin.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Shahnawaz. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shahnawaz today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shahnawaz births was 1990 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shahnawaz. 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 Shahnawaz with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shahnawaz. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1990
5 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
1990 SSA rank
#9,281
Tracked since 1990
Census
Shahnawaz in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 233 people with the first name Shahnawaz, which placed it at #34,862 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
#34,862
National first-name rank
People counted
233
233 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
92.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shahnawaz
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shahnawaz is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Shahnawaz 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 Shahnawaz at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander92.7% · 216
- White2.6% · 6
- Two or more races2.6% · 6
- Black or African American1.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Popularity
Shahnawaz: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Shahnawaz 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 Shahnawaz during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Shahnawaz
The name Shahnawaz has its origins in the Persian language and can be traced back to the medieval period in the regions that are now parts of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. The word is derived from the Persian words "shah," meaning king or sovereign, and "nawaz," meaning caressing or cherishing.
In its earliest known usage, the name Shahnawaz was often bestowed upon individuals who were either part of or closely associated with royal households or nobility. It carried connotations of being favored or cherished by the ruler or the ruling class. The name was particularly prevalent during the reign of various Persian dynasties, such as the Safavids and the Mughals, who ruled over vast empires in the region.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Shahnawaz can be found in the epic Persian poem "Shahnameh" (Book of Kings), written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. This literary masterpiece, which chronicles the history of Persian kings and heroes, features several characters with the name Shahnawaz, highlighting its significance in the cultural and literary traditions of the time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Shahnawaz. One of the earliest known was Shahnawaz Khan Safavi (1585-1627), a prominent military commander and governor during the Safavid Dynasty in Persia. Another notable figure was Shahnawaz Khan Mahabat Khan (1642-1677), a Mughal nobleman and military leader who served under Emperor Aurangzeb in the Indian subcontinent.
In the 18th century, Shahnawaz Khan Rohilla (1722-1793) was a renowned Afghan military commander and ruler who established the Rohilla state in northern India. His exploits and leadership during the turbulent period of the decline of the Mughal Empire earned him a place in the annals of history.
Moving into the 19th century, Shahnawaz Khan Tiwana (1835-1894) was a prominent landlord and chieftain from the Punjab region, who played a significant role in the events surrounding the British annexation of the region and the subsequent uprisings against colonial rule.
In more recent times, Shahnawaz Khan Bhutto (1888-1936) was a prominent politician and landlord from the Sindh region of present-day Pakistan. He was the father of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, and played a pivotal role in the country's struggle for independence from British rule.
People
Shahnawaz + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shahnawaz 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
Shahnawaz: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shahnawaz?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shahnawaz 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Shahnawaz a common name?
We classify Shahnawaz as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shahnawaz most popular?
The single biggest year for Shahnawaz was 1990, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shahnawaz is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shahnawaz in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 233 people with the name Shahnawaz, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,862 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 Shahnawaz 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 Shahnawaz?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shahnawaz leans strongly male. 215 people counted with this name were male (95.1%), compared with 11 female bearers (4.9%). 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 Shahnawaz?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shahnawaz is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.7%. The next largest groups are White (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Shahnawaz most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shahnawaz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (216 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 Shahnawaz in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shahnawaz a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shahnawaz 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 Shahnawaz still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shahnawaz 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 Shahnawaz 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 named Shahnawaz?
Find out how many people have the name Shahnawaz on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.