Shamarr
An Arabic name meaning "the keeper of secrets" or "confidant".
Name Census estimates that about 298 living Americans carry the first name Shamarr. It is a predominantly male name (98.4% of registrations). The average person named Shamarr today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shamarr births was 1999 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shamarr. 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
298
~ 1 in 1,150,182 Americans
Peak year
1999
19 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2020 SSA rank
#13,478
Tracked since 1978
Census
Shamarr in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 263 people with the first name Shamarr, which placed it at #32,158 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
#32,158
National first-name rank
People counted
263
263 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shamarr
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shamarr is Black at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Shamarr 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 Shamarr at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.4% · 235
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 12
- Two or more races3.8% · 10
- White1.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Shamarr
Shamarr leans heavily male at 98.4% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shamarr as a male name
- Ranked #13,723 in 2020
- 5 male births in 2020
- Peak: 1999 (19 births)
Shamarr as a female name
- Ranked #13,478 in 1988
- 5 female births in 1988
- Peak: 1988 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shamarr leans strongly male. 246 people counted with this name were male (93.9%), compared with 16 female bearers (6.1%).
Popularity
Shamarr: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shamarr from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 137 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shamarr 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 Shamarr 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 Shamarr
The name Shamarr is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, with its roots traced back to the Middle East and North Africa regions during the medieval period. It is derived from the Arabic word "shamar," which means "to guard" or "to protect," suggesting that the name carries a connotation of being a guardian or protector.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shamarr can be found in the historical Islamic texts from the 7th century AD. It is mentioned in the context of a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, who was known for his bravery and loyalty in guarding the faith. This association with the early Islamic era lends a significant historical and religious significance to the name.
Throughout the centuries, the name Shamarr has been borne by notable individuals across various cultures and regions. One of the most prominent figures was Shamarr ibn Dinar, an 8th-century Islamic scholar and mystic from Basra, known for his wisdom and spiritual teachings. His writings and teachings have had a lasting impact on Islamic philosophy and spirituality.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Shamarr al-Ghazi, a 12th-century Kurdish military leader and ruler of the Artuqid dynasty. He was renowned for his military prowess and his successful campaigns against the Crusaders, earning him the title "al-Ghazi," which means "the warrior" or "the victorious one."
In the realm of literature, Shamarr al-Jahiz, a 9th-century Arab prose writer and author from Basra, left a significant mark with his celebrated works on various subjects, including philosophy, theology, and zoology. His writings provided valuable insights into the intellectual and cultural landscape of the Abbasid period.
Moving forward in time, Shamarr Rashid al-Gaylani was a 20th-century Iraqi politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 1933 to 1935. He played a crucial role in the country's political landscape during a turbulent period in its history.
These are just a few examples of notable historical figures who bore the name Shamarr, highlighting its rich cultural heritage and the diverse backgrounds of those who carried this name throughout the centuries.
People
Shamarr + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shamarr 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
Shamarr: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shamarr?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 298 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shamarr 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 1,150,182 US residents.
Is Shamarr a common name?
We classify Shamarr as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 304 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shamarr most popular?
The single biggest year for Shamarr was 1999, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shamarr is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shamarr in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 263 people with the name Shamarr, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,158 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 Shamarr 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 Shamarr?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shamarr leans strongly male. 246 people counted with this name were male (93.9%), compared with 16 female bearers (6.1%). 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 Shamarr?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shamarr is Black at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Shamarr most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shamarr in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (235 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 Shamarr in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shamarr a male name?
Yes, 98.4% of people registered as Shamarr 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 Shamarr still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shamarr 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 Shamarr 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 Shamarr?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.