Shanita
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Shani meaning "moon" in Sanskrit.
Name Census estimates that about 3,221 living Americans carry the first name Shanita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shanita today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shanita births was 1978 (184 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shanita. 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 Shanita with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.2K
~ 1 in 106,412 Americans
Peak year
1978
184 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2008 SSA rank
#11,470
Tracked since 1959
Census
Shanita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,769 people with the first name Shanita, which placed it at #5,944 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
#5,944
National first-name rank
People counted
2.8K
2,769 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shanita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shanita is Black at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Shanita 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 Shanita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.3% · 2,501
- Two or more races3.2% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 70
- White2.5% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 16
Popularity
Shanita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shanita from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 1,636 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
Shanita 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 Shanita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shanitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. North Carolina, Illinois, Michigan recorded the most babies named Shanita, while Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 99 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shanita
The name Shanita has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the root for many modern Indian languages. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "shanti," which means peace, tranquility, or calmness. This suggests that the name Shanita was initially used to convey a sense of serenity or a peaceful disposition.
While the exact time period of the name's origin is uncertain, it is believed to have emerged in ancient India, where Sanskrit was the predominant language of literature, philosophy, and religion. The name may have been used by Hindu families or communities who valued the concept of inner peace and sought to instill these qualities in their children.
Historically, there are no specific references to the name Shanita in major ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, its connection to the Sanskrit word "shanti" aligns with the principles of Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Eastern philosophies that emphasize the importance of achieving inner peace and harmony.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Shanita are found in historical documents and records from various Indian regions, particularly in the northern and central parts of the subcontinent. Unfortunately, precise dates are difficult to pinpoint due to the scarcity of comprehensive name records from ancient times.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shanita. One example is Shanita Ghosh (1889-1976), an Indian writer and social activist who advocated for women's rights and education. Another is Shanita Zaman (born 1951), a Bangladeshi architect and artist known for her contributions to sustainable design and environmental awareness.
In the field of music, Shanita Hubbard (born 1980) is an American singer and songwriter who has released several albums and contributed to various musical projects. Shanita Ricketts (born 1986) is a Jamaican track and field athlete who has represented her country in international competitions, specializing in sprinting events.
Lastly, Shanita Akintonde (born 1993) is a Nigerian-American basketball player who has played professionally in various leagues, including the WNBA and overseas teams, showcasing her skills on the court.
These individuals, from diverse backgrounds and fields, have carried the name Shanita throughout history, each leaving their unique mark and embodying the essence of peace and tranquility that the name represents.
People
Shanita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shanita 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
Shanita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shanita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,221 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shanita 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 106,412 US residents.
Is Shanita a common name?
We classify Shanita as "Rare". It ranks above 95.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,450 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shanita most popular?
The single biggest year for Shanita was 1978, when 184 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shanita is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shanita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,769 people with the name Shanita, or 0.92 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,944 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 Shanita 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 Shanita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shanita appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,763 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Shanita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shanita is Black at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Shanita most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shanita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (2,501 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 Shanita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shanita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shanita 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 Shanita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shanita 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 Shanita 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 Shanita as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.