Shaniya
A feminine name of Hindi origin meaning "beauty" or "prosperity".
Name Census estimates that about 6,418 living Americans carry the first name Shaniya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shaniya today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaniya births was 2010 (517 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaniya. 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
6.4K
~ 1 in 53,405 Americans
Peak year
2010
517 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,112
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Shaniya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaniya from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 3,856 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shaniya 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 Shaniya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaniyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. Florida, Georgia, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Shaniya, while Connecticut, Minnesota, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 188 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaniya
The name Shaniya is derived from the Sanskrit language, which originated in ancient India around the 2nd millennium BCE. It is believed to be a combination of two Sanskrit words – "shani," meaning "planet Saturn," and "ya," meaning "born under." This suggests that the name may have been given to children born during the astrological influence of the planet Saturn.
The earliest recorded use of the name Shaniya can be traced back to Hindu scriptures and texts, where it was mentioned as a feminine name. In the Indian epic poem Mahabharata, composed around the 8th century BCE, there is a reference to a character named Shaniya, who was a skilled archer and warrior.
During the medieval period, the name Shaniya gained popularity in various parts of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in regions where Sanskrit was widely spoken and understood. It was commonly used among Hindu families, often with the belief that it would bring good fortune and protection to the child.
One of the earliest known historical figures named Shaniya was a 12th-century Indian poetess and scholar from the Deccan region. She was renowned for her literary works and contributions to Sanskrit literature.
In the 16th century, a famous Indian astrologer and astronomer named Shaniya Pandita lived during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. He was known for his expertise in celestial calculations and played a significant role in the development of the Hijri calendar.
Another notable figure with the name Shaniya was Shaniya Devi, a 17th-century Indian princess and ruler of the princely state of Mandi in present-day Himachal Pradesh. She was celebrated for her administrative skills and patronage of the arts.
In the 19th century, Shaniya Sahib was a respected Sufi mystic and spiritual leader from the Punjab region of British India. She was known for her devotional poetry and teachings on Islamic mysticism.
During the 20th century, Shaniya Krishnaswamy was an acclaimed Indian classical dancer and choreographer. Born in 1928, she was a pioneer in the field of Bharatanatyam dance and played a crucial role in its revival and popularization.
People
Shaniya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaniya 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
Shaniya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaniya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,418 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaniya 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 53,405 US residents.
Is Shaniya a common name?
We classify Shaniya as "Rare". It ranks above 97% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,513 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaniya most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaniya was 2010, when 517 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaniya is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shaniya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shaniya 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.