Shardai
Origin uncertain, possibly a feminine name of Indian or Sanskrit origin.
Name Census estimates that about 282 living Americans carry the first name Shardai. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shardai today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shardai births was 1985 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shardai. 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 Shardai with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
282
~ 1 in 1,215,441 Americans
Peak year
1985
33 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2006 SSA rank
#19,586
Tracked since 1985
Census
Shardai in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 237 people with the first name Shardai, which placed it at #34,427 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
#34,427
National first-name rank
People counted
237
237 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shardai
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shardai is Black at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Shardai 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 Shardai at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.9% · 206
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 14
- Two or more races3.8% · 9
- White3.0% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Popularity
Shardai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shardai from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 136 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
Shardai 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 Shardai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shardais live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shardai
The name Shardai has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages spoken in ancient India. This name is derived from the Sanskrit words "shar" meaning "arrow" and "dai" meaning "giver" or "bestower." Thus, the name Shardai can be interpreted as "the one who bestows arrows" or "the giver of arrows."
In ancient Indian texts and scriptures, such as the Puranas and the Mahabharata, there are references to Shardai as a name given to warriors or archers who were skilled in the art of wielding bows and arrows. The name was often associated with strength, courage, and prowess in battle.
The earliest recorded use of the name Shardai dates back to the 5th century BCE, when it was mentioned in ancient Sanskrit inscriptions found in various regions of the Indian subcontinent. One notable figure bearing this name was Shardai Dhanurdhar, a renowned archer and warrior who lived during the 3rd century BCE and was celebrated for his exceptional skills with the bow and arrow.
Throughout history, several individuals have been known by the name Shardai. In the 7th century CE, Shardai Acharya was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and grammarian who made significant contributions to the study of the Sanskrit language and its grammar rules.
During the 12th century, Shardai Vaidya was a renowned Ayurvedic physician and healer from the Indian subcontinent. He is credited with authoring several treatises on Ayurvedic medicine and its practices.
In the 16th century, Shardai Singh was a prominent warrior and military leader who served under the Mughal Empire. He was known for his bravery and strategic skills in battles against rival kingdoms.
Another notable figure with the name Shardai was Shardai Devi, a 17th-century Indian princess and patron of the arts. She was renowned for her patronage of poets, musicians, and artists during her time, and her court was considered a vibrant center of cultural activities.
While the name Shardai has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Indian culture, it has been adopted and used across various regions and cultures over time, carrying with it the symbolism of strength, valor, and skill in archery or warfare.
People
Shardai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shardai 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
Shardai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shardai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 282 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shardai 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 1,215,441 US residents.
Is Shardai a common name?
We classify Shardai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 293 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shardai most popular?
The single biggest year for Shardai was 1985, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shardai is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shardai in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 237 people with the name Shardai, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,427 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 Shardai 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 Shardai?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shardai appears almost entirely female. Of the 237 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Shardai?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shardai is Black at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Shardai most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shardai in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (206 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 Shardai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shardai a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shardai 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 Shardai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shardai 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 Shardai 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 share the name Shardai?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.