Shanese
A combination of the names Shannon and Denise, meaning "little wise wanderer".
Name Census estimates that about 716 living Americans carry the first name Shanese. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shanese today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shanese births was 1988 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shanese. 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
716
~ 1 in 478,707 Americans
Peak year
1988
68 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2014 SSA rank
#16,221
Tracked since 1969
Popularity
Shanese: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shanese from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 289 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
Shanese 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 Shanese during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaneses live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Shanese, while North Carolina, Illinois, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shanese
The name Shanese is a modern feminine given name that appears to have originated in the late 20th century. It is likely a combination of the names Shannon and Renee, both of which have distinct origins and meanings.
Shannon is an Irish name derived from the Gaelic surname Ó Sionna, meaning "descendant of Sionna." Sionna was an Irish personal name derived from the word "sionna," meaning "ancient" or "old." The name Shannon was originally used as a place name for the River Shannon in Ireland before becoming a popular given name.
Renee is a French feminine name derived from the Germanic name Reinild or Reinilda, which is composed of the elements "ragin" (counsel) and "hild" (battle). It gained popularity in France during the Middle Ages and was later adopted into English as a given name.
The blend of these two names, Shanese, appears to have emerged in the late 20th century, possibly as a way to create a unique and distinctive feminine name. While there are no historical records or ancient texts directly referencing the name Shanese, its roots can be traced back to the Irish and French cultures through its component names.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Shanese is Shanese Burgess, an Australian actress born in 1981. Another notable figure is Shanese Mack, an American professional basketball player born in 1987. Additionally, Shanese Fox, an American singer and songwriter, has used this first name.
Other individuals with the name include Shanese Smith, an American entrepreneur and author born in 1985, and Shanese Wilson, an American model and social media influencer. While the name is relatively new and uncommon, it has gained some recognition in recent decades, particularly in the United States, Australia, and other English-speaking countries.
People
Shanese + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shanese 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
Shanese: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shanese?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 716 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shanese 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 478,707 US residents.
Is Shanese a common name?
We classify Shanese as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 753 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shanese most popular?
The single biggest year for Shanese was 1988, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shanese is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shanese a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shanese 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.