Shainna
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly linked to the Biblical name Shaina.
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the first name Shainna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shainna today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shainna births was 1988 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shainna. 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
131
~ 1 in 2,616,445 Americans
Peak year
1988
15 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2006 SSA rank
#19,546
Tracked since 1981
Census
Shainna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 164 people with the first name Shainna, which placed it at #43,191 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
#43,191
National first-name rank
People counted
164
164 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shainna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shainna is White at 51.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.0%). 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 Shainna 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 Shainna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.8% · 85
- Black or African American20.1% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.0% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 15
- Two or more races4.9% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 5
Popularity
Shainna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shainna from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 66 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shainna 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 Shainna 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 Shainna
The name Shainna has its origins rooted in the ancient Arabic language, with its earliest known usage dating back to the 7th century AD. Derived from the Arabic word "sha'in," which means "beautiful" or "radiant," the name carries a profound sense of elegance and grace. Historically, it was commonly found in regions where Arabic culture and influence flourished, such as the Middle East and parts of North Africa.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shainna can be traced back to a renowned Persian poet and scholar, Shainna al-Baghdadi, born in 823 AD. Her literary works, which explored themes of love and spirituality, gained widespread acclaim and heavily influenced the poetic traditions of the region. Another notable figure bearing this name was Shainna bint Al-Husayn, a revered Islamic scholar and jurist who lived during the 11th century. Her contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence and her profound knowledge of the Quran earned her great respect among her contemporaries.
In the realm of medieval Islamic history, Shainna al-Mansur, born in 1135 AD, stands out as a remarkable figure. A skilled military strategist and ruler, she led her forces to numerous victories, solidifying her reputation as a formidable leader. Her reign was marked by significant territorial expansions and the establishment of a strong central authority.
The name Shainna also found its way into European literature, with the character Shainna appearing in the 14th-century epic poem "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville." This fictional character, a beautiful and enigmatic princess from a faraway land, captured the imagination of readers and served as a symbol of exotic allure.
Fast forward to the 18th century, Shainna al-Hawrani, born in 1712 AD, made her mark as a pioneering educator and advocate for women's education in the Ottoman Empire. Her efforts to establish schools and promote literacy among women were groundbreaking for the time and paved the way for future generations of educated women in the region.
These are just a few examples of the diverse and remarkable individuals who have borne the name Shainna throughout history, each leaving an indelible mark on their respective fields and cultures. The name's enduring presence across centuries and regions serves as a testament to its timeless beauty and the rich tapestry of stories it has woven into the annals of human civilization.
People
Shainna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shainna 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
Shainna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shainna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 131 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shainna 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 2,616,445 US residents.
Is Shainna a common name?
We classify Shainna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 137 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shainna most popular?
The single biggest year for Shainna was 1988, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shainna 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 Shainna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 164 people with the name Shainna, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,191 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 Shainna 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 Shainna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shainna appears almost entirely female. Of the 161 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Shainna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shainna is White at 51.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.0%). 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 Shainna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shainna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.8% (85 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 Shainna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shainna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shainna 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 Shainna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shainna 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 Shainna 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 common is the name Shainna?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.