Shalon
A feminine name of French origin meaning "little thatched cottage".
Name Census estimates that about 1,216 living Americans carry the first name Shalon. It is a predominantly female name (90.1% of registrations). The average person named Shalon today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shalon births was 1977 (180 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shalon. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 281,870 Americans
Peak year
1977
180 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2010 SSA rank
#13,931
Tracked since 1961
Census
Shalon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,496 people with the first name Shalon, which placed it at #9,326 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
#9,326
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,496 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shalon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalon is White at 44.0%. The next largest groups are Black (43.4%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Shalon 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 Shalon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.0% · 658
- Black or African American43.4% · 650
- Two or more races5.9% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Shalon
Shalon leans heavily female at 90.1% of total registrations, but 130 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shalon as a male name
- Ranked #13,931 in 2010
- 5 male births in 2010
- Peak: 1977 (12 births)
Shalon as a female name
- Ranked #19,120 in 2011
- 5 female births in 2011
- Peak: 1977 (168 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shalon leans strongly female. 1,322 people counted with this name were female (88.1%), compared with 179 male bearers (11.9%).
Popularity
Shalon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shalon from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 599 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
Shalon 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 Shalon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shalons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Texas, Michigan recorded the most babies named Shalon, while Missouri, Florida, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shalon
The given name Shalon has its roots in the ancient Hebrew language, dating back to the biblical era. It is derived from the Hebrew word "shalom," which means "peace" or "wholeness." The name is believed to have originated in the Middle East region, particularly in ancient Israel and surrounding areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shalon can be found in the biblical Book of Judges, where it is mentioned as the name of a judge who ruled over the Israelites for a period of 23 years. This historical reference suggests that the name was in use during the ancient Israelite period, around the 12th century BCE.
In the Middle Ages, the name Shalon was relatively uncommon, but it did appear in various historical records and texts. One notable figure was Shalon de Verduyn, a Flemish nobleman and military commander who lived in the 13th century. He played a significant role in the Flemish uprising against the French during the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302.
During the Renaissance period, the name Shalon gained some popularity in certain regions of Europe. One notable individual was Shalon Delacroix, a French painter and sculptor who lived in the 16th century. He was known for his contributions to the artistic movements of the time and his works that adorned many churches and cathedrals across France.
In the 17th century, a prominent figure named Shalon Montague emerged in England. He was a renowned philosopher and writer who authored several influential works on ethics and morality. Shalon Montague's ideas were widely discussed and debated among intellectuals of his time.
The 19th century saw the rise of Shalon Emerson, an American writer and philosopher who was a leading figure in the Transcendentalist movement. Born in 1803, Emerson's works, such as "Self-Reliance" and "Nature," had a profound impact on American literature and thought.
Throughout history, the name Shalon has been associated with individuals from various backgrounds and professions, reflecting its enduring presence across different cultures and time periods.
People
Shalon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shalon 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
Shalon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shalon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,216 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shalon 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 281,870 US residents.
Is Shalon a common name?
We classify Shalon as "Rare". It ranks above 91.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,311 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shalon most popular?
The single biggest year for Shalon was 1977, when 180 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shalon 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 Shalon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,496 people with the name Shalon, or 0.50 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,326 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 Shalon 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 Shalon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shalon leans strongly female. 1,322 people counted with this name were female (88.1%), compared with 179 male bearers (11.9%). 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 Shalon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalon is White at 44.0%. The next largest groups are Black (43.4%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Shalon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shalon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.0% (658 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 Shalon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shalon a female name?
Yes, 90.1% of people registered as Shalon 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 Shalon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shalon 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 Shalon 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 Shalon as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Shalon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.