Shanea
A feminine name of Irish origin meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 1,078 living Americans carry the first name Shanea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shanea today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shanea births was 1991 (95 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shanea. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 317,954 Americans
Peak year
1991
95 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2014 SSA rank
#18,816
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Shanea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shanea from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 438 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
Shanea 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 Shanea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaneas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Shanea, while Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shanea
The name Shanea is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "sean," meaning old or ancient. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century, when Ireland was a predominantly Gaelic-speaking society.
In ancient Irish folklore and mythology, there are references to characters and figures with names similar to Shanea, such as Seanan and Seanacha, which may have influenced the evolution of the name. However, there is no definitive record of the name Shanea appearing in any specific ancient texts or religious scriptures from that time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shanea dates back to the late 16th century, when it was mentioned in a collection of Irish genealogical manuscripts known as the Annals of the Four Masters. In this text, a woman named Shanea Ní Cheallaigh is referenced as a member of the O'Kelly clan, a prominent Irish family from County Galway.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Shanea. One of the most famous was Shanea O'Doherty (1590-1661), an Irish noblewoman and landowner from County Donegal. She played a significant role in defending her family's lands during the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s.
Another notable Shanea was Shanea Ní Mhaille (1670-1745), a renowned Irish pirate and sea captain who commanded her own fleet and terrorized ships in the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea. She was known for her fearlessness and defiance of English rule over Ireland.
In the 18th century, Shanea Ní Dhubhghaill (1725-1795) was a celebrated Irish poet and storyteller from County Kerry. Her works were widely renowned for their vivid descriptions of Irish rural life and their preservation of traditional Gaelic culture and language.
In the 19th century, Shanea Ní Bhriain (1835-1901) was a prominent Irish nationalist and activist who campaigned for Irish independence and the preservation of Irish language and traditions. She was also a respected scholar and author, publishing several works on Irish history and culture.
Shanea Ní Chonchubhair (1880-1958) was an Irish politician and women's rights advocate who served as a member of the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann) in the early 20th century. She played a crucial role in the fight for women's suffrage and was a vocal supporter of Irish republicanism.
People
Shanea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shanea 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
Shanea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shanea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,078 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shanea 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 317,954 US residents.
Is Shanea a common name?
We classify Shanea as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,131 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shanea most popular?
The single biggest year for Shanea was 1991, when 95 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shanea is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shanea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shanea 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.