Shandel
A Biblical-esque feminine name derived from Chanda meaning "moon."
Name Census estimates that about 353 living Americans carry the first name Shandel. It is a predominantly female name (97.3% of registrations). The average person named Shandel today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shandel births was 1991 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shandel. 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
353
~ 1 in 970,975 Americans
Peak year
1991
48 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2002 SSA rank
#12,211
Tracked since 1968
Census
Shandel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 413 people with the first name Shandel, which placed it at #23,623 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
#23,623
National first-name rank
People counted
413
413 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shandel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shandel is White at 45.5%. The next largest groups are Black (31.7%) and Hispanic (12.1%). 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 Shandel 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 Shandel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.5% · 188
- Black or African American31.7% · 131
- Hispanic or Latino12.1% · 50
- Two or more races5.3% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.9% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 10
Gender
Gender distribution for Shandel
Shandel leans heavily female at 97.3% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shandel as a male name
- Ranked #12,211 in 2002
- 5 male births in 2002
- Peak: 1973 (5 births)
Shandel as a female name
- Ranked #13,387 in 2002
- 7 female births in 2002
- Peak: 1991 (48 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shandel leans strongly female. 366 people counted with this name were female (86.9%), compared with 55 male bearers (13.1%).
Popularity
Shandel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shandel from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 143 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shandel 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 Shandel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shandels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shandel
The name Shandel is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name Shande, which means "portion" or "destiny." The name first appeared in ancient Jewish texts and scriptures, commonly used among Jewish communities in the Middle East and Europe during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Shandel was a renowned Jewish scholar and mystic, Shandel ben Yitzchak, who lived in the 12th century in Spain. He was known for his contributions to Kabbalah, the mystical teachings of Judaism, and his influential writings on the subject.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Shandel of Arles gained recognition in France. He was a prominent Jewish physician and philosopher who wrote extensively on medical ethics and the intersection of science and religion.
During the Renaissance, Shandel Goldschmidt (1489-1559) was a German-Jewish banker and philanthropist. He was instrumental in establishing one of the first Jewish communities in Frankfurt and funded the construction of several synagogues and educational institutions.
In the 18th century, Shandel Mendelssohn (1729-1786) was a German Jewish philosopher and leading figure of the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement. His works advocated for Jewish integration into modern European society while preserving Jewish traditions and values.
Another notable figure was Shandel Levitt (1888-1954), an American-Jewish composer and musician. He was renowned for his contributions to Yiddish theater and his compositions that blended traditional Jewish melodies with contemporary musical styles.
While the name Shandel has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture, it has been adopted and adapted by various communities throughout history, each adding their unique cultural imprint to its meaning and significance.
People
Shandel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shandel 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
Shandel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shandel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 353 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shandel 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 970,975 US residents.
Is Shandel a common name?
We classify Shandel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 375 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shandel most popular?
The single biggest year for Shandel was 1991, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shandel is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shandel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 413 people with the name Shandel, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,623 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 Shandel 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 Shandel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shandel leans strongly female. 366 people counted with this name were female (86.9%), compared with 55 male bearers (13.1%). 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 Shandel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shandel is White at 45.5%. The next largest groups are Black (31.7%) and Hispanic (12.1%). 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 Shandel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shandel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.5% (188 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 Shandel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shandel a female name?
Yes, 97.3% of people registered as Shandel 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 Shandel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shandel 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 Shandel 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 Shandel as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Shandel, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.