Shani
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "shining", "splendor", or "Saturn".
Name Census estimates that about 4,237 living Americans carry the first name Shani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shani today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shani births was 1969 (223 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shani. 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 Shani with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.2K
~ 1 in 80,896 Americans
Peak year
1969
223 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2000 SSA rank
#6,579
Tracked since 1962
Census
Shani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,439 people with the first name Shani, which placed it at #4,282 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
#4,282
National first-name rank
People counted
4.4K
4,439 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
42.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shani is White at 42.0%. The next largest groups are Black (39.5%) and Hispanic (7.0%). 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 Shani 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 Shani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.0% · 1,865
- Black or African American39.5% · 1,754
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 312
- Two or more races6.2% · 274
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 198
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 36
Gender
Gender distribution for Shani
Out of the 4,535 babies given the name Shani since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Shani as a male name
- Ranked #11,844 in 2000
- 5 male births in 2000
- Peak: 1975 (6 births)
Shani as a female name
- Ranked #6,579 in 2024
- 18 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1969 (223 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shani leans strongly female. 4,334 people counted with this name were female (97.6%), compared with 105 male bearers (2.4%).
Popularity
Shani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shani from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 1,435 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shani 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 Shani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shanis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Shani, while South Carolina, Kentucky, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 85 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shani
The name Shani has its origins in the Sanskrit language, derived from the word "Shanaishchara," which refers to the planet Saturn in Hindu astrology. This name has been in use for centuries and can be found in various ancient texts and scriptures.
In Hinduism, Shani is the name given to the deity associated with the planet Saturn, often depicted as a powerful and austere figure. The name is mentioned in the Puranas, a collection of ancient Hindu texts, and is believed to have been used as a name for individuals born under the astrological influence of Saturn.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Shani can be found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic dating back to around the 8th century BCE. In this epic, Shani is mentioned as the son of the Sun god Surya and is revered for his ability to bring both good and bad fortunes.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Shani. One of the most famous was Shani Shingnapur, a Hindu saint and yogi who lived in the 18th century and is revered for his spiritual teachings and miracles. Another prominent figure was Shani Rachamalla, a 14th-century ruler of the Vijayanagar Empire in South India, known for his patronage of art and literature.
In more recent times, the name Shani has been associated with several influential figures. Shani Davis, born in 1982, is an American former speed skater and multiple Olympic gold medalist. Shani Wallis, born in 1933, is a prominent British actress known for her roles in films and television. Shani Rhys James, born in 1989, is a Welsh actress and singer who has appeared in various stage productions and television shows.
It is worth noting that while the name Shani has its roots in Sanskrit and Hindu culture, it has also gained popularity across various regions and communities, transcending its religious and cultural origins.
People
Shani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shani 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
Shani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,237 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shani 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 80,896 US residents.
Is Shani a common name?
We classify Shani as "Rare". It ranks above 96.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,535 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shani most popular?
The single biggest year for Shani was 1969, when 223 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shani is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,439 people with the name Shani, or 1.47 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,282 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 Shani 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 Shani?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shani leans strongly female. 4,334 people counted with this name were female (97.6%), compared with 105 male bearers (2.4%). 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 Shani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shani is White at 42.0%. The next largest groups are Black (39.5%) and Hispanic (7.0%). 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 Shani most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.0% (1,865 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 Shani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shani a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Shani 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 Shani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shani 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 Shani 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 are named Shani?
Find out how many people have the name Shani on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.