Shanise
A feminine name of French origin meaning "God's grace".
Name Census estimates that about 1,398 living Americans carry the first name Shanise. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shanise today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shanise births was 1992 (139 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shanise. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 245,175 Americans
Peak year
1992
139 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2016 SSA rank
#18,452
Tracked since 1968
Popularity
Shanise: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shanise 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 614 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
Shanise 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 Shanise during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shanises live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. New York, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Shanise, while South Carolina, New Mexico, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shanise
Shanise is a feminine given name with roots in the French language. It is believed to have originated as a variant of the French name Jeannette, which itself is a diminutive form of the name Jeanne, the French equivalent of Jane. The name Jeanne can be traced back to the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious."
The earliest known use of the name Shanise dates back to the late 19th century in France. It gained popularity in the early 20th century, particularly in French-speaking regions of Europe and North America. The name's unique spelling and pronunciation set it apart from other variations of the name Jeanne, making it a distinctive choice for parents.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Shanise was Shanise Durand, a French artist born in 1883. She was known for her impressionistic landscapes and still-life paintings, which were exhibited in several galleries across Paris in the early 1900s.
Another notable figure with the name Shanise was Shanise Leblanc, a Canadian author and poet born in 1912. Her works, which often explored themes of nature and the human experience, were widely acclaimed and earned her several literary awards during her lifetime.
In the world of sports, Shanise Renault was a French tennis player who competed in the early decades of the 20th century. She was a finalist at the French Championships (now known as the French Open) in 1925 and was known for her powerful serve and net play.
The name Shanise also appeared in historical records from the United States. Shanise Wilkins, born in 1920, was an African American civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in the desegregation of public schools in her hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, in the 1950s.
More recently, Shanise Dolbel was a French-Canadian singer and songwriter born in 1968. Her music, which blended elements of folk, pop, and rock, gained popularity in the 1990s, and she released several successful albums during her career.
While the name Shanise has remained relatively uncommon compared to more traditional variations of the name Jeanne, its unique sound and historical significance have made it a distinctive choice for parents seeking a name with both French roots and a touch of individuality.
People
Shanise + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shanise 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
Shanise: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shanise?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,398 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shanise 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 245,175 US residents.
Is Shanise a common name?
We classify Shanise as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,466 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shanise most popular?
The single biggest year for Shanise was 1992, when 139 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shanise is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shanise a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shanise 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.