Shana
Shana is a feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "beautiful."
Name Census estimates that about 27,388 living Americans carry the first name Shana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shana today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shana births was 1984 (1,568 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shana. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Shana is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 113 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1970s, recent registration numbers for Shana have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
27K
~ 1 in 12,515 Americans
Peak year
1984
1,568 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1990 SSA rank
#4,266
Tracked since 1937
Gender
Gender distribution for Shana
Out of the 29,721 babies given the name Shana since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Shana as a male name
- Ranked #7,057 in 1990
- 7 male births in 1990
- Peak: 1977 (11 births)
Shana as a female name
- Ranked #4,266 in 2024
- 34 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1984 (1,562 births)
Popularity
Shana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shana from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 10,282 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
Shana 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 Shana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Shana, while Wyoming, Alaska, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 539 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shana
The name Shana has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture. It is a feminine form of the name Shaun or Shawn, which is derived from the Hebrew name Shavon, meaning "grace" or "favor." The name Shana first appeared in ancient Hebrew texts and scriptures, where it was associated with beauty, elegance, and divine favor.
In the Bible, the name Shana appears in the Book of Esther, where it is mentioned as the name of one of the maidens who attended to Queen Esther. This reference dates back to the 5th century BCE, indicating the antiquity of the name's usage.
One of the earliest recorded historical figures bearing the name Shana was Shana bat Shmuel, a 12th-century Jewish scholar and poet from Spain. She was known for her contributions to Hebrew poetry and her expertise in religious studies.
In the 17th century, Shana Spanier was a notable Dutch painter and engraver, renowned for her portraits and landscapes. She was born in 1628 and lived in Amsterdam, where she was an active member of the local artists' guild.
Another historical figure with the name Shana was Shana Tovah, a 19th-century Jewish activist and philanthropist from Poland. She was born in 1820 and dedicated her life to improving the living conditions of impoverished Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.
In the 20th century, Shana Alexander was a renowned American journalist and author. Born in 1925, she was known for her pioneering work in television journalism and her best-selling biographies of prominent figures such as Melvin Belli and J. Edgar Hoover.
Lastly, Shana Mangalam was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who made significant contributions to the preservation and promotion of traditional Indian dance forms. She was born in 1932 and received numerous awards and accolades for her artistic achievements throughout her career.
People
Shana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shana 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
Shana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27,388 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shana 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 12,515 US residents.
Is Shana a common name?
We classify Shana as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 29,721 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shana most popular?
The single biggest year for Shana was 1984, when 1,568 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shana is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shana a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Shana 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.