Shalanda
A feminine name of African-American origin meaning "precious gift."
Name Census estimates that about 1,609 living Americans carry the first name Shalanda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shalanda today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shalanda births was 1977 (115 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shalanda. 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
1.6K
~ 1 in 213,023 Americans
Peak year
1977
115 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2005 SSA rank
#12,822
Tracked since 1964
Census
Shalanda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,302 people with the first name Shalanda, which placed it at #10,304 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
#10,304
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,302 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shalanda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalanda is Black at 91.2%. The next largest groups are White (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Shalanda 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 Shalanda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.2% · 1,187
- White3.3% · 43
- Two or more races3.1% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 8
Popularity
Shalanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shalanda from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 828 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shalanda 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 Shalanda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shalandas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. Georgia, Illinois, Florida recorded the most babies named Shalanda, while Virginia, Oklahoma, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shalanda
The name Shalanda is believed to have originated from the Swahili language, spoken primarily in East Africa. It is a combination of two Swahili words – "shaha" meaning "beautiful" and "landa" meaning "land" or "earth." Thus, the name Shalanda can be interpreted as "beautiful land" or "beautiful earth."
The earliest known use of the name Shalanda dates back to the late 19th century, when it was recorded in various historical documents and records from the region. However, it is possible that the name was in use even earlier, as many African names were passed down orally through generations before being formally documented.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shalanda is found in the writings of the renowned Swahili scholar and poet, Shaaban Robert, who lived from 1909 to 1962. In his works, he mentioned a character named Shalanda, which is believed to have contributed to the popularization of the name.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Shalanda. One such person was Shalanda Mgole, a Tanzanian activist and politician who lived from 1935 to 2001. She was a prominent figure in the fight for women's rights and gender equality in her country.
Another notable Shalanda was Shalanda Bunbury, a South African writer and poet who lived from 1920 to 1987. Her works often explored themes of identity, culture, and the struggles of the African diaspora.
In the realm of music, Shalanda Muvatsi was a Zimbabwean singer and songwriter who gained popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. Her music celebrated African culture and traditions, and she was widely regarded as a pioneer of the Zimbabwean music scene.
Shalanda Goba, born in 1965, is a South African actress and television presenter who has appeared in numerous popular TV shows and films, both locally and internationally.
Lastly, Shalanda Nkosi was a South African activist and human rights advocate who lived from 1950 to 2015. She dedicated her life to fighting against apartheid and promoting social justice and equality in her country.
While the name Shalanda may have originated from a specific region and language, it has transcended geographical boundaries and gained popularity across various cultures and communities, particularly in the African diaspora.
People
Shalanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shalanda 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
Shalanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shalanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,609 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shalanda 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 213,023 US residents.
Is Shalanda a common name?
We classify Shalanda as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,744 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shalanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Shalanda was 1977, when 115 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shalanda is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shalanda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,302 people with the name Shalanda, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,304 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 Shalanda 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 Shalanda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shalanda appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,310 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Shalanda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalanda is Black at 91.2%. The next largest groups are White (3.3%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Shalanda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shalanda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (1,187 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 Shalanda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shalanda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shalanda 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 Shalanda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shalanda 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 Shalanda 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 Shalanda?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.