Shanekia
An African American feminine name with no definite meaning or etymology.
Name Census estimates that about 267 living Americans carry the first name Shanekia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shanekia today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shanekia births was 1991 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shanekia. 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
267
~ 1 in 1,283,724 Americans
Peak year
1991
22 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1996 SSA rank
#11,580
Tracked since 1975
Census
Shanekia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 225 people with the first name Shanekia, which placed it at #35,641 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
#35,641
National first-name rank
People counted
225
225 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
96.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shanekia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shanekia is Black at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and White (0.4%). 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 Shanekia 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 Shanekia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.9% · 218
- Two or more races2.2% · 5
- White0.4% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Shanekia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shanekia from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 152 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Shanekia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shanekia 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 Shanekia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shanekias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shanekia
The name Shanekia has its roots in the African American community, originating as a combination of the more common names Shane and Kia. It is a relatively modern name, first appearing in the latter half of the 20th century.
While the exact origins of the name are somewhat unclear, it is believed to have been created by African American families as a unique and culturally significant name for their children. The name may have been inspired by the popular names Shane and Kia, with the addition of the "-ekia" ending lending a distinctive flair.
There are no known historical references or ancient texts that mention the name Shanekia directly. However, its emergence in the African American community can be seen as a reflection of the cultural pride and identity that flourished during the civil rights movement and beyond.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Shanekia can be found in the birth records of the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. As the name gained popularity within the African American community, it began to appear more frequently in various records and documents.
Throughout its relatively short history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shanekia. Shanekia McIntosh, an American actress born in 1983, is known for her roles in various television shows and films. Shanekia Williams, born in 1985, is a former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA.
Another individual named Shanekia is Shanekia Monique Benton, an American model and reality television personality born in 1987. Shanekia Pruitt, born in 1990, is an American sprinter and Olympic medalist who has competed in various international track and field events.
Lastly, Shanekia Jones, born in 1992, is an American singer and songwriter who has released several successful albums and singles within the R&B and pop genres.
People
Shanekia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shanekia 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
Shanekia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shanekia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 267 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shanekia 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 1,283,724 US residents.
Is Shanekia a common name?
We classify Shanekia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 283 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shanekia most popular?
The single biggest year for Shanekia was 1991, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shanekia is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shanekia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 225 people with the name Shanekia, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,641 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 Shanekia 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 Shanekia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shanekia appears almost entirely female. Of the 224 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Shanekia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shanekia is Black at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and White (0.4%). 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 Shanekia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shanekia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.9% (218 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 Shanekia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shanekia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shanekia 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 Shanekia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shanekia 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 Shanekia 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 the name Shanekia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.