Shaneka
A feminine name potentially originating from the Shawnee Native American tribe.
Name Census estimates that about 2,533 living Americans carry the first name Shaneka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shaneka today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaneka births was 1983 (164 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaneka. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Shaneka with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 135,316 Americans
Peak year
1983
164 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2008 SSA rank
#20,003
Tracked since 1971
Census
Shaneka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,180 people with the first name Shaneka, which placed it at #7,098 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
#7,098
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,180 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shaneka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaneka is Black at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Shaneka 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 Shaneka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.9% · 2,047
- Two or more races2.7% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 35
- White1.1% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.0% · 1
Popularity
Shaneka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaneka from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 1,398 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shaneka 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 Shaneka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shanekas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Florida, Georgia, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Shaneka, while Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 89 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaneka
The name Shaneka is thought to have originated from the African continent, with its roots tracing back to the Swahili language spoken in East Africa. The name Shaneka is believed to be a variant or derivative of the name Shanika, which itself is a feminine form of the name Shanik or Shani.
In Swahili, the word "shani" refers to the planet Saturn, which was considered an important celestial body in ancient African astrology and mythology. The name Shaneka, therefore, is presumed to have been bestowed upon girls born under the astrological influence of Saturn or during the period when Saturn was prominent in the night sky.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Shaneka can be traced back to the 19th century, particularly among communities in Kenya, Tanzania, and other parts of East Africa where Swahili was spoken. However, it is possible that the name existed in oral traditions and linguistic usage even before then.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Shaneka was Shaneka bint Juma, a renowned Swahili poet and scholar who lived in the late 19th century on the island of Zanzibar. Her poetry and writings were influential in preserving and promoting the Swahili language and culture during the colonial era.
Another notable figure was Shaneka Mwanyumba, a Tanzanian activist and politician who played a significant role in the country's independence movement in the mid-20th century. She was a member of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) and worked alongside leaders like Julius Nyerere to advocate for self-governance and the end of British colonial rule.
In the realm of literature, Shaneka Mumin was a celebrated Kenyan author and playwright who wrote extensively about the experiences of women and marginalized communities in East Africa. Her works, published in the latter half of the 20th century, shed light on social and cultural issues and contributed to the growth of African literature.
In the field of sports, Shaneka Williams was a standout track and field athlete from Jamaica who excelled in sprinting events. She represented her country at multiple international competitions, including the Olympic Games, and won several medals throughout her career, which spanned from the late 1990s to the early 2000s.
Furthermore, Shaneka Hosein was a prominent figure in the arts and entertainment industry in South Africa during the late 20th century. She was a renowned dancer, choreographer, and actress who helped popularize traditional African dance forms and brought them to the mainstream stage.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Shaneka throughout history, highlighting its rich cultural heritage and significance across various regions and disciplines.
People
Shaneka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaneka 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
Shaneka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaneka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,533 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaneka 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 135,316 US residents.
Is Shaneka a common name?
We classify Shaneka as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,686 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaneka most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaneka was 1983, when 164 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaneka 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 Shaneka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,180 people with the name Shaneka, or 0.72 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,098 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 Shaneka 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 Shaneka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shaneka appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,181 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Shaneka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaneka is Black at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Shaneka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shaneka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (2,047 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 Shaneka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shaneka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shaneka 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 Shaneka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shaneka 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 Shaneka 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 common is the name Shaneka?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Shaneka on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.