Shaughnessy
Irish surname derived from Gaelic meaning "descendant of Sheaghain" or "descendant of John".
Name Census estimates that about 93 living Americans carry the first name Shaughnessy. It is a predominantly female name (94.8% of registrations). The average person named Shaughnessy today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaughnessy births was 1997 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaughnessy. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shaughnessy. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
93
~ 1 in 3,685,531 Americans
Peak year
1997
11 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
1991 SSA rank
#9,411
Tracked since 1985
Census
Shaughnessy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 234 people with the first name Shaughnessy, which placed it at #34,758 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
#34,758
National first-name rank
People counted
234
234 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shaughnessy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaughnessy is White at 63.7%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Shaughnessy 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 Shaughnessy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.7% · 149
- Black or African American21.4% · 50
- Two or more races6.4% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Shaughnessy
Shaughnessy leans heavily female at 94.8% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shaughnessy as a male name
- Ranked #9,411 in 1991
- 5 male births in 1991
- Peak: 1991 (5 births)
Shaughnessy as a female name
- Ranked #19,765 in 2009
- 5 female births in 2009
- Peak: 1997 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shaughnessy on both sides of the split. Of the 223 people counted with this name, 65 were male (29.1%) and 158 were female (70.9%).
Popularity
Shaughnessy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaughnessy 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 60 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Shaughnessy remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shaughnessy 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 Shaughnessy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaughnessy
The name Shaughnessy has its origins in the Irish language and culture, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Gaelic words "sean" meaning old and "gios" meaning hostage or pledge. The name was originally spelled as "Ó Seaghnosha" or "Ó Sionachaidh," indicating that it was a patronymic surname, meaning "descendant of Seaghnosha" or "descendant of Sionachadh."
The earliest known historical reference to the name Shaughnessy can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. It mentions a prominent family bearing this name in County Galway, Ireland, in the 14th century. The Shaughnessy clan was part of the Gaelic nobility and held significant power and influence in the region.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Shaughnessy was Rory Shaughnessy, a Irish chieftain who lived in the 16th century. He was known for his leadership and involvement in the Gaelic resistance against English colonization efforts in Ireland during the Tudor conquest.
Another notable figure was Dermot Shaughnessy (1609–1680), an Irish Catholic priest and philosopher. He was a prominent scholar at the University of Paris and wrote several works on metaphysics and theology during the 17th century.
In the 18th century, John Shaughnessy (1725–1799) was a distinguished Irish poet and playwright. His works celebrated Irish culture and language, and he was widely acclaimed for his contributions to the literary tradition of the time.
During the 19th century, Patrick Shaughnessy (1820–1892) was a prominent Irish-American businessman and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the shipping industry and was known for his charitable contributions to Catholic organizations and educational institutions in the United States.
Another notable figure was Mary Shaughnessy (1865–1934), an Irish-American labor activist and social reformer. She was a prominent figure in the women's suffrage movement and fought for improved working conditions and rights for women and children.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Shaughnessy, showcasing its rich cultural heritage and historical significance within the Irish tradition.
People
Shaughnessy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaughnessy 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
Shaughnessy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaughnessy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 93 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaughnessy 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 3,685,531 US residents.
Is Shaughnessy a common name?
We classify Shaughnessy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 96 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaughnessy most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaughnessy was 1997, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaughnessy is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shaughnessy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 234 people with the name Shaughnessy, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,758 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 Shaughnessy 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 Shaughnessy?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shaughnessy on both sides of the split. Of the 223 people counted with this name, 65 were male (29.1%) and 158 were female (70.9%). 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 Shaughnessy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaughnessy is White at 63.7%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Shaughnessy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shaughnessy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.7% (149 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 Shaughnessy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shaughnessy a female name?
Yes, 94.8% of people registered as Shaughnessy 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 Shaughnessy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shaughnessy 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 Shaughnessy 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 the name Shaughnessy?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.