Shalina
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "calm" or "peaceful".
Name Census estimates that about 515 living Americans carry the first name Shalina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shalina today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shalina births was 1985 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shalina. 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
515
~ 1 in 665,542 Americans
Peak year
1985
32 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2017 SSA rank
#18,058
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Shalina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shalina from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 256 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
Shalina 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 Shalina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shalinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Shalina, while New York, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shalina
The name Shalina is a feminine given name with roots in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language of South Asia. It is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit word "shalina," which means "modest" or "gentle." The name's origins can be traced back to ancient Indian culture and mythology, where it was likely used as a descriptive term for individuals possessing these qualities.
In Hindu mythology, there are references to Shalina as a minor deity or celestial nymph associated with grace, beauty, and gentleness. However, the name itself does not appear to have been prominently featured in any major ancient texts or religious scriptures.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Shalina can be found in historical records and literature from the medieval period in India. One notable figure bearing this name was Shalina Devi, a 13th-century queen and consort of the Chahamana ruler Viranarayana of Jalor, in present-day Rajasthan. Her name is mentioned in several inscriptions and chronicles from that era.
Another historical figure with the name Shalina was Shalina Begum, a 16th-century Mughal princess and the daughter of Emperor Akbar. She was known for her literary talents and patronage of the arts during the Mughal Empire's golden age.
In more recent times, Shalina Balasingham was a prominent Sri Lankan Tamil activist and author who played a significant role in the Tamil nationalist movement. She was born in 1950 and passed away in 2006.
Shalina Mehta is an Indian classical dancer and choreographer born in 1962, known for her contributions to the preservation and promotion of traditional Indian dance forms.
Shalina Vaziralli is a Canadian-Indian actress born in 1975, who has appeared in numerous Bollywood films and television shows, earning recognition for her versatile performances.
While the name Shalina is not among the most common given names globally, it has maintained a presence across various cultures and regions, particularly in South Asia and among communities with Indian or Sanskrit linguistic influences.
People
Shalina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shalina 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
Shalina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shalina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 515 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shalina 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 665,542 US residents.
Is Shalina a common name?
We classify Shalina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 547 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shalina most popular?
The single biggest year for Shalina was 1985, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shalina is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shalina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shalina 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.
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.